UNDP Tasks Youth to Harness Ideas to Achieve SDG Goals

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP has tasked the youth to harness new technologies to address challenges in various sectors of sustainable development, particularly in the area of health, environment and education.

In a statement read on his behalf at this year's Social Good Summit in Koforidua, the Assistant Country Director of the UNDP Ghana, Mr. Louis Kuukpen, harped on the importance of partnership in achieving the ambitious targets of the SDGs and the critical role of the youth.

Under the theme "Leveraging Technology and Innovation towards the Achievement of the SDGs", the summit attracted 500 participants from the All Nations University College, Koforidua Technical University, Ghana Telecom University, Koforidua Technical Senior High School, and Pope John Senior High and Junior Seminary.

Mr Kuukpen encouraged the youth not to be deterred by challenges that they may face in their pursuit to develop solutions for solving societal problems.

To this end, the Assistant Country Director encouraged young people to develop innovative solutions to help address the social, environmental and economic challenges that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seek to address.

"As young people, you are a critical part of this partnership especially because you are not only active users of new technology but creators of vibrant innovations that is needed to realize the targets set for the SDGs", Mr Kuukpen stated.

Earlier, Dr Samuel Donkor, the president of the All Nations University College, encouraged the participants to emulate the example of the young engineers of the All Nations University, who successfully launched satellite (GhanaSat 1) into orbit.

The achievement by the students, he pointed out, made Ghana the first country in Sub-Sahara Africa to have launched a satellite into space. This has helped the country to map its coastal areas for security purposes.

"You are more informed, more tech-savvy and more connected than any generations before you. You have the opportunity to harness new technology, the internet and services to bring together young people from around the world to share content, ideas, and resources in order to advance progress on global issues", he said

A representative of the SDGs Advisor to the President, Ms Leticia Browne, cited various innovations being championed by young people and advised the youth to support the country's efforts to move "Ghana Beyond Aid", as envisioned by the President of the Republic.

In a panel discussion, Dr Wilhelmina Quaye, the Director of the Council for Science and Industrial Research - Science and Technology Policy Research Institute ; Mr Michael Asante-Afrifa, Founding Partner of Dext Technology ; Dr Theophilus Oware, Head of IT and Joseph Quansah, Satellite Technologist, All Nations University, drew lessons from their experiences in the area of innovation to motivate and counsel the youth to write down their ideas and work relentlessly on implementing them to generate solutions for sustainable development.

The discussion was moderated by Ms Sylvia Senu, an Economic Analyst with the UNDP.

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