The Kaneshie Deanery Catholic Youth Council of the Accra Archdiocese successfully organised the 7th edition of its Youth Empowerment Seminar attended by many youth from Parishes, Rectorates and Churches in the Deanery.
This year’s event held at the Our Lady of Assumption (OLA) Catholic Church at New Achimota on Saturday, May 25, 2024, was well attended in spite of the heavy rains.
In attendance were Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Okine-Quartey, Rector of the St. Paul Catholic Seminary at Sowutuom who was the keynote speaker; Prof. Mrs. Mavis Benneh Mensah, Mr. Nlaliban Wujangi, Mr. Hugh M. Potakey and Mr. Ekow Mensah, all panelists and Madam Juliana Bemah Adubofour, Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) representative.
Also present were some Priests including Rev. Fr. Charles-Lwanga Tawiah Jnr., the Kaneshie Deanery Youth Chaplain; Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Gnaha, MCCJ, Youth Chaplain of OLA Parish.
Ms. Margaret A. Atugumyuure, the Chairperson of the OLA Parish Youth Council (PYC) gave the welcome address and the purpose of gathering.
The Keynote speaker was Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Okine-Quartey, Rector of the St. Paul’s Catholic Major Seminary, Sowutuom in Accra, who said empowerment truly builds self-confidence, brings about the development of skills, fosters innovation and brings self-reliance since the days when elders decided and children obeyed have evolved, hence, the need to empower the youth.
The panel discussion on the topic “Job Pathways: The Entrepreneurial Conversation” was composed of a cross-section of experts both from academia and industry.
Some questions such as, if people are born entrepreneurs, whether the panelists envisaged attaining the heights they had reached today, and how a person can start a venture and generate income, were the centre of the panel discussion.
Prior to that, a minute silence was observed in memory of the late Mrs. Mawuena Trebarh, a speaker of the 4th edition who died in April 2024.
In answering these questions, an entrepreneur was termed as one with the pursuit of finding solutions to problems, which everyone has the potential to become.
Being an entrepreneur, they said, does not mean you are a business person. Hence, one must avail himself or herself to undergo some sort of training to learn to set up, manage and run a business successfully.
At the end of the programme, there were citations presented by the KANDCYC executives to the speakers, panelists, media partners and sponsors of the event.
This Empowerment Seminar programme was instituted 10 years ago with the aim to help grow the youth into mature individuals for God and country Ghana.
As a flagship programme of the Kaneshie Deanery, it also seeks to give the youth the push they need in order to take control of their future and to equip them with the right tools and mindset to make better decisions for their future.
Above all, the Seminar seeks to help the participants to cultivate skills and discover their potentials for the necessary personal and professional development.
By Joseph Obu Jnr//Newswatchgh.com
