The premises of the Ghanaian Presbyterian  Church in Toronto was jubilant with some children and young adults from the Toronto Ghanaian community as they came together to participate in activities lined up for the 3^rd Annual Youth Summit organized by the Ghanaian Canadian Association of Ontario (GCAO) on June 25, 2016.

Two of the dynamic youth volunteers with the GCAO, Priscilla and Vivian, opened the summit by appealing to the youth to pay attention and learn from the speakers and workshops. Then Mr. Emmanuel Duodu, the Executive Secretary of GCAO, introduced the summit programs of the day and appealed to participants to know they could do anything they aspire to be, if they put their minds to it. He appealed to the youth to eliminate negatives and accentuate positive in their lives

There were four speakers for the event – Mr. Akwasi Afriyie- Author and motivational speaker,  Vivian Ntiri – Law Student, Mr. Rocco Acheampong –  A Lawyer , Francis Atta – Community Worker, Motivational speaker and Harry Jerome Community Service Award Winner

Mr. Afriyie delivered a powerful speech around the themes of Leadership, Success, Pressing Forward in Faith, and being consistent. He detailed what it entails to be successful.  Mr. Afriyie encouraged the community to embrace this type of events to network, inspire our youth and seek to help each other.

The next speaker was Vivian Ntiri a law student and presently on internship with a lawyer firm. Vivian covered areas around goal setting. She captivated the audience with her wit and eloquence in explaining goal setting. She used the S.M.A.R.T goal setting acronym to help audience learn how to set SMART goals. In her presentation, she mentioned that the goals we set must be Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely (SMART). Vivian encouraged the youth to make use of volunteering opportunities, seek out mentors, research the profession they want to be in and go for it. She recounted using her elder sister as her mentor and that helped her a lot. Vivian ended her presentation by quoting from the Proverbs3:5 –Trust in The Lord with all Thine Heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He Shall direct they paths

Mr. Rocco Acheampong began his  inspirational and thought provoking speech with a powerful saying  paraphrased as ”the youth of today are the most endowed and blessed generation because they are not constrained by  global boundaries”. He backed this up by taking us back memory lane that not long ago we did not have the internet available to all and the world is digitized to the point that we can make friends anywhere and apply for jobs anywhere and our reach today is immense.  He touched on culture and pointed out that Ghanaians need to be proud of their heritage and seek to teach our children Ghanaian languages. He lamented the fact that most of our kids cannot speak their language, hence losing their identity. He bemoaned the fact that, parents focused so much on building treasure in Ghana at the expense of creating a solid foundation for our children in Canada. Mr. Acheampong made the case that the opportunities for this generation are immense and the kids should work hard and embrace the opportunities out there. He counselled the youth not to be trapped into thinking that due to racism they cannot advance their aspirations. They need to push forward and believe that they can make it.  Mr. Acheampong captivated everyone with his wisdom, intellect, knowledge and wit that the audience wanted him to keep going. His charisma and charm was evident at the event

Francis Atta was the concluding speaker before break for lunch . As anticipated, Francis spell bound speech was so inspiring and motivating since it was all about his upbringing. He was always told he was not good for anything but he proved everyone wrong. He turned his life around by resorting to education and believing that he could do it. He encouraged the youth to associate themselves with those positive role models and seek to be respectful to all. He proved the cynics wrong by graduating from George Brown College with honours and now pursuing a degree at Ryerson University. Francis gave some of the books he wrote to the youth at the event.

The content and depth of these presentations were so inspiring that some adults and youth asked to have these events often. As a community we will be better served to encourage our youth to attend these events to foster networking and just obtain knowledge with no cost.

There was networking and socializing among participants and speakers as well as other dignitaries present.  Delicious meals were served to participants at the playing grounds in front of the church building by Aunte Lucy Crenstil and Vivian Ofori while danceable music was provided by two lady DJs as a background.

Youth leaders —Vivian Ofori, Gabriel Odartei, Priscilla Hinewaah, and Richard Twumasi —played a pivotal role in organizing this year’s summit.Sponsors of the program included Sankofa Radio (CMR 101.3 FM), Ghanalinx Media and Lauri Meats.