The Youth Empowerment Synergy

Following the commencement of oil production in commercial quantities off the west coast of Ghana, there is huge expectation that the country will benefit immensely. There is no doubt that oil stands as the linchpin for the economy of many countries around the world. But, given that competition for oil wealth has fuelled ethnic and political violence in many oil producing countries especially in Africa, including Nigeria’s Niger Delta region where tensions continue to rise between foreign oil corporations and a number of ethnic groups, it has become necessary to engage youth more proactively in the process of ensuring that Ghana’s oil becomes a booster to national development rather than a source of conflict and ethnic violence.

The production of oil in Ghana provides a great opportunity for young people who form a large cohort of the citizenry to participate effectively in the national development process. More specifically, young people within the vicinity of the oil production activities need special assistance to engage meaningfully in the socio-economic processes associated with the sector and to contribute to ensuring that the emerging oil industry would yield participatory development and peace.

Objectives
Overall, the project aims to deepen youth-led strategies for strengthening Ghana’s good governance and sustainable development pursuit, especially in the oil economy. Specifically, the project will:
•    build capacities of local youth to undertake advocacy and civic engagements with particular relevance for the emerging oil economy;
•    increase opportunities for youth to contribute to achieving environmentally sound good governance at the local level; and
•    lay the foundations for a network of youth to support efforts in making Ghana’s oil become a booster to national development rather than a source of conflict.

Target
The project is located in the six districts immediately surrounding the offshore oil production activities in the Western region, namely Shama, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ahanta West, Nzema East, Ellembele, and Jomoro. The primary target group is young people aged 15 to 35 (in conformity with the National Youth Policy of Ghana) who are resident in the six districts. The project will specifically recruit 60 young leaders (nominated by local youth groups) who, after training and capacity building, will reach out to about 10,000 other youth in second-cycle and tertiary institutions as well as those out of school, unemployed, and/or are members of local youth groups. The project will also target the local government authorities, traditional leaders, industry representatives and civil society structures in the six districts. Indirectly, the project will, through its broader outreach, potentially have a wider regional and national implication.

Activities

i.    Youth for Good Governance Capacity Building Workshops will be organised with participants drawn from functional youth groups operating in the 6 target districts, including youth associations, community action networks, and student unions. The workshops will provide a platform for the young leaders to build capacity in participatory local governance and advocacy for good oil governance, build friendships and collaboration towards a long-term networking and advocacy effort. Participants will develop action plans for implementation in their various districts using peer-to-peer approaches in making youth more visible in both informing and debating about issues within the oil sector and improving governance at the local level. Young people who successfully undergo the training will be awarded with certificates and inducted as Youth Advocates for Good Oil Governance.

ii.    Youth Media Action will involve media training for the selected youth in order to explore and develop new and creative opportunities for participation, campaigns, knowledge dissemination and advocacy using radio and internet. The participants will experience being active contributors to media products and not just passive receivers. Furthermore, youth presenting their views on radio and in debates will show as evidence of constructive youth participation.

iii.    Youth Dialogue with District Assemblies will provide a direct platform for interaction between the Youth Advocates and officials of their respective DAs. By the end of these dialogue sessions, the youth leaders would become familiar with the work and officials of their respective DAs, while the local government officials would become aware of the potential contribution of the youth to achieving local government objectives, thereby paving the way for implementation of the youth action plans and further positive cooperation.

iv.    Implementation of Youth Action Plans developed by themselves and supported by the project team. As opposed to the endless workshops and capacity building activities that are conducted without a further demand for action, this project intends to apply a ‘learning by doing’ approach, where the Youth Advocates through peer-to-peer approaches with other young people in their communities will act as catalysts for reform, and thereby making youth more visible as active citizens in improving governance at the local level.

v.    Youth for Good Oil Governance Conference will seek to break the usual ‘wall of silence’ between youth and the various actors in the oil and gas sector, and will provide a multi-stakeholder platform for the Youth Advocates to disseminate the best results of the implementation of their action plans in the communities and thereby advocate for further youth involvement.

vi.    Youth Network for Good Oil Governance will be created and run by Youth Advocates themselves with the support of the project team. The network will potentially become a platform for capacity development, active citizenship and advocacy in Ghana’s emerging oil economy. It will be the main channel to engage with other youth and stakeholders at the community level to ensure good governance, transparency and accountability in the oil economy and political environment.

Duration
This first phase of the project is for the period January – December 2011

Expected Results

i.    A sustainable mechanism for meaningful youth participation in local development and oil governance set in place;

ii.    A team of well-informed, trained and enthusiastic young people developed to champion the course advocacy and civic engagement in the Western region; and

iii.    New partnerships built between major stakeholders including local government authorities, traditional leaders, oil and gas sector firms, civil society and youth themselves towards long term efforts at making Ghana’s oil a booster to national development rather than a source of conflict and ethnic violence.

Implementing Partners

The ‘Youth for Good Oil Governance’ is developed and implemented by the Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES-Ghana) with support from Crossing Borders, Denmark. Partnership with local government authorities, National Youth Council, traditional leaders, oil and gas sector firms, civil society, and young people themselves will ensure successful achievement of project results.

Further enquiries: Kwesi Anderson This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it