President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commended the Head of State Award Scheme-Ghana (HOSA) for inculcating the values of enterprise, hard work, self-help, and creativity among the youth, which are key to nation-building.
The President said those values were key to nation-building and a better way of creating a prosperous Ghana as it focused on developing the youth who formed the majority of Ghana’s population.
President Akufo-Addo gave the commendation on Monday, when the Head of State Award Scheme-Ghana (HOSA), presented a report on research conducted on the impact of its programmes on the youth during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown to him at the Presidency.
The Award Scheme is designed to meet the needs and interests of young people. It invites young people below age 35, to participate in some activities.
It embraces a very wide range of adventurous, cultural and practical activities, which young people may choose to participate voluntarily in their own time, under the guidance of trained adult leaders and volunteers.
President Akufo-Addo said he was impressed by the outline of the report, which comprised data collection during the period of the country’s lockdown in the initial stages of the pandemic.
The HOSA Ghana report also saw Canada, Jordan and Australia selected by HOSA’s London Headquarters to conduct similar reports for their respective countries.
President Akufo-Addo said the outline of the report was a big pointer to the government on how it could be better informed on the development of its social and economic policy direction.
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He congratulated HOSA for the report and the work it continued to do and assured of the government’s assistance to enable it to work better.
HOSA’s Board Chair, Harry B. Sintim, said as a youth-focused organisation, working to improve the lives and livelihoods of young people, it could not have just talked about the impact it had made but also showed qualitatively, the impact its programmes had on the youth.
He said the Secretariat had contracted the University of Cape Coast to create a sculpture of the late Prince Philip to be unveiled by Prince Edward and President Akufo-Addo in June, this year.
Mr Sintim said the construction of the Award House, which was slowed down due to the pandemic, was progressing steadily.
The Executive Director of HOSA, Peter Akai Anum, said the country’s lockdown during the pandemic, provided the Award scheme with the opportunity to rethink innovative ways to engage young people even when they were at home in self-development programmes.
Mr Anum said HOSA would continue to research key areas of the country’s economy to show the impact on the youth, and the economic value of youth development agencies in the country.
