The YALI Regional Leadership Center (RLC) West Africa, Accra, has commenced the onsite training of Young Africans for the Ghana Cohort 11.
The initiative, which forms part of the Emerging Leaders Program and funded by USAID, Mastercard Foundation and other partners, is the eleventh to be held in Ghana, with another five already organized in Nigeria and seven held online, making a total of 23 Cohorts so far.
The Emerging Young Leaders program, which commenced in 2015, draws participants from nine West African countries including Ghana, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria. Other participating countries within the sub region include Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Cameroon.
In her opening remarks, the Project Director of the YALI Regional Leadership Center West Africa, Accra, Dr. Mrs. Shola Safo-Duodu, welcomed trainees to the program, assuring them of the Center’s “readiness to deliver the best experiential leadership training package over the period of the training, as has been the hallmark of the Center”.
The initiative, the Project Director added, received over 5,000 applications for Ghana Cohort 11. Out of this number, the Center screened and selected 151 to commence the mandatory initial two-week online training. A total of 131 participants, out of the selected 151, who completed the online training, made it to the onsite training.
The Gambian team
In terms of achievement, the Regional Leadership Center, between May 2015 and April 2018, has trained 3,393 Young Leaders. This represents a 121% performance achievement, as against the expected cumulative target of training 2,700 Young Leaders by the end of the project’s third year of implementation.
Dr. Mrs. Shola Safo-Duodu also gave an update on the recently launched YALI Alumni Innovation Fund (YAIF).
The YAIF is the RLC’s effort at assisting YALI Alumni create more opportunities through the expansion of businesses, concepts and initiatives. It is also aimed at creating jobs, improving livelihoods and providing more opportunities for YALI Alumni to excel in their fields of work. Submitted applications and budgets for the Fund are currently under review.
The Rector of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Prof. Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, in a speech read on his behalf by Deputy Rector, Prof. Philip Osei-Duku, welcomed participants to GIMPA, the implementing institution for the Emerging Leaders Program, adding that the Institute was ever ready to provide participants with the best support throughout their three-week training period.
The YALI West Africa Regional Coordinator at USAID West Africa, Mr. Pape Sow, admonished participants to guard jealously, the resources at their disposal, namely, time, finances and power entrusted in their care as they embark on their leadership journey.
This, according to the Regional Coordinator, will go a long way to determine the leadership quality and skill of participants after completing the training. Participants were, therefore, encouraged to make judicious use of time especially during the training period, respect the beliefs and values of others, and ensure they build what they learn throughout the training and post-training periods into their everyday lives.
Pape Sow, YALI West Africa Regional Coordinator at USAID West Africa encouraging participants to manage their resources judiciously
The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) was launched by the Government of the United States of America as a signature effort to invest in the next generation of African Leaders. The need to invest in grooming strong, result-oriented leaders is inspired by the fact that about 60% of the continent’s total population is below the age of 35.
In July 2014, the U.S. Government announced the creation of four Regional Leadership Centers in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Senegal. RLCs are physical footprints across the continent which serve as hubs to encourage transformational learning and enhance leadership skills. The Accra Regional Leadership Center, implemented by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), commenced implementation in 2015 with the aim of training and equipping 4,000 young Africans with leadership skills in key areas of focus essential to the development of the continent. The initiative therefore trains young people between the ages 18 and 35 in three Tracks: Public Policy and Management; Civic Leadership; and Business and Entrepreneurship.
Teams Nigeria (top) and Sierra Leone (down) introduce themselves at the opening ceremony
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