Ghana Library Authority and UNICEF announce the launch of 10 youth engagement centers

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The Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) and UNICEF have announced the commencement of a cooperative project to open ten youth engagement centers in GhLA library spaces.

The partnership will focus on increasing young people’s long-term access to high-quality learning, employment, and empowerment opportunities.

The Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) and UNICEF have announced the commencement of a cooperative project to open ten youth engagement centers in GhLA library spaces.

The partnership will focus on increasing young people’s long-term access to high-quality learning, employment, and empowerment opportunities.

The youth engagement centers will help at least 10,000 young Ghanaians aged 14 to 24 develop digital and entrepreneurship skills by providing access to online courses, organizing regular peer-to-peer learning sessions in their communities, scheduling engagements with industry leaders and mid-career professionals for career guidance and mentorship support, and providing access to tools to help them build their businesses.

The Ghana Library Authority’s Executive Director, Mr. Hayford Siaw, expressed his delight at the GhLA’s engagement with UNICEF to empower young people in Ghana. “The Ghana Library Authority is on a mission to make Ghana a literate nation, and because Ghana is currently experiencing a youth bulge, there is a need to target and empower the youth by radically connecting them to knowledge resources and mentoring them on how to apply that knowledge,” he said in his remarks. We aim to build a system in which the library is not simply known for books, but also as a secure refuge for young people to learn new skills. This alliance, I believe, will help the GhLA achieve this goal.”

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Over the course of a year, the pilot initiative will be implemented in eight Ghanaian regions and digitally connected GhLA library locations.

The centers will provide a physically and technologically safe and inclusive setting in which young people, including those from disadvantaged groups, can generate and work on advocacy and entrepreneurial ideas.

GhLA will establish Youth Advisory Boards to enable young people to participate in the co-creation of different interventions within their center and mobilize peers. Engagement with the community, particularly with young people, is critical for the success of the centers, and GhLA will establish Youth Advisory Boards to enable young people to participate in the co-creation of different interventions within their centers and mobilize peers.

“UNICEF is thrilled to cooperate with the Ghana Library Authority on this vital initiative,” said Mr. Fiachra McAsey, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Ghana. We feel that the library spaces provide a fresh, innovative, and long-term strategy to empower young people in Ghana with skilling and employability prospects, while also promoting their engagement and ownership.”

The relationship between UNICEF and GhLA contributes to the worldwide Generation Unlimited project, which aims to bring together key players from the government, commercial sector, educational institutions, and youth organizations to co-develop and implement an investment roadmap for Ghana’s youth. Louis Vuitton, a French fashion house and luxury products corporation, has made a financial commitment to the cooperation.