Robertson Jackson
The US Ambassador in Ghana Robert Jackson, has held discussions with Corporate Ghana on support and partnerships for the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in the West African sub-region.
He reaffirmed President Barack Obama’s commitment to investing in the development of the African youth which he announced in July 2014 after the creation of four YALI Regional Leadership Centers in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Senegal.
A statement signed by Sefa Gohoho-Boatin, Corporate Affairs and Institutional Advancement Manager at YALI, said the centers were serving as regional hubs across the continent to encourage transformational learning and enhanced leadership skills.
The YALI Regional Leadership Centers are a project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in close partnership with the Mastercard Foundation which are managed under a public-private partnership.
Local companies and organisations such as Vodafone, Barclays Bank, AngloGold Ashanti, Ghana Chamber of Mines, Concord Consulting, Integriti PR, Kasapreko Group, Centre for CSR, West Africa, SSNIT, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and other captains of industry have developed affinity for the initiative, according to the statement.
While thanking Vodafone and other partners such as Mastercard Foundation, Africa 2.0., Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF), Microsoft and others for their support, Dr Victor Osei, the Director of the YALI West Africa RLC, urged guests to offer themselves as mentors to participants and fellows of the RLC.
Fellows from Cohort I and II, all 105 Cohort III participants, staff of the RLC, were present at the meeting where Fellows of Cohort I made a case to guests and enumerated ways their skills and competences had been enhanced by the YALI leadership experience.
The event was graced by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary for US Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs, Alex Deprez, USAID Mission Director for West Africa and other Embassy staff.
The YALI RLC West Africa runs three cohorts in a year. Applications for the next Cohort will soon be announced.
Source: GNA
