Youth are the inheritors and custodians of our world peace and development. We need to invest more in developing their leadership potentials, agency, voice and in creating the space for their meaningful participation in decision-making structures as members of such bodies and not as outsiders simply to be consulted while they are left out of the final decision on the governance, politics, polity, and policies including resource allocation. This way, we ensure that the policies and financing decisions speak to the needs, interests, and aspirations of the youth.

We acknowledge that many initiatives and investments are being made in their education, employment, skilling opportunities, and health needs. Equally needed is intentionally investing in youth leadership development that empowers them to competently engage in the decision-making bodies as well as drive peace and development more broadly and thus, the future we want.

The UNFPA Ghana's one-year Youth Leadership Development Programme (YoLe) attempts to just do that.

-Dr. David Wilfred Ochan (UNFPA Ghana Country Representative)