ActionAid Ghana (AAG), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), says digital transformation has the potential to reverse the trend of unemployment and alter the structure of African economies.

It said the trend could be reversed through investment in digital decent jobs and indicated that ‘Digital policies and interventions with a specific focus on gender mainstreaming are fundamental in this regard and are a key step in reversing the negative impacts of unemployment on women and girls.

‘We would like to use this opportunity to call on stakeholders to consider the role of education and digital skills for youth employment and how this links to interventions from both policy and practice’, the NGO said.

AAG said this in an address delivered by Mr Yakubu Akuka, its Programme Officer in the Upper East Region at a youth forum to mark this year’s International Youth Day (IYD) celebration in Bolgatanga on the theme: ‘From clicks to progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development’.

The celebration brou
ght together representatives from the various political parties and offered the youth, drawn from Activista Ghana and the Young Urban Women’s Movement which are affiliates of AAG, the opportunity to interact with the political parties on their plans for the youth.

Mr Akuka said the IYD was significant and not just a day to celebrate the youth, but also an event to raise awareness of the various challenges young people faced, including unemployment, the lack of access to quality education, poverty, and social exclusion.

‘Recognizing the pivotal role of young people in driving peace and progress across the world, IYD is a rallying point for a call to action and positive engagement with duty-bearers to address the challenges facing the youth and promote peace in our society.

‘This year, we are called to explore the instrumental role of technology and innovation in accelerating efforts towards achieving sustainable development, and the role of young people in advancing digital transition’, he said.

Mr Akuka s
aid the Ghana Statistical Services estimated that over 1.3 million youth were unemployed as of 2023, and the youth unemployment rate was 14.7 per cent.

He said technology played a key role in creating employment and unemployment, ‘Technology has created employment for people who have the skill set and are innovative.

‘On the other hand, technology has created unemployment. Artificial Intelligence has come to lay off people who do not have the technical skill set to be relevant in the digital era,’ he said.

On AAG’s contribution to reducing unemployment among the youth, the Programme Officer said the NGO continued to empower the youth with knowledge and entrepreneurial skills and supported them to be self-employed.

‘We have trained close to 2000 youth in the Upper East Region on various livelihood skills and innovations including mobile phone repairs, satellite installation, tiling, soap making, leather works, basketry, weaving and catering.

‘Between 2020 and 2023, we supported 1200 young people with star
tups to establish their own businesses’, he added.

Mr Mumuni Abdul-Majeed, the Programme Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), reminded the youth that they were the future leaders of the country, and in the current era of digitalization, they had the opportunity to make an impact towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr Nicholas Nambirigya Azebire, the Regional Coordinator of Activista Ghana, said Activista was a network of young people across the globe with the goal of harnessing potential of young people, initiators, and implementers of development.

‘It also seeks to resource and fulfil young people’s right to participate in their own development. Activista is a unique opportunity for young people across the world to campaign together, learn from each other and create global solidarity and citizenship’, he said.

Mr Azebire, also a Broadcast Journalist with Dreamz Frequency Modulation (FM), a local radio station in Bolgatanga, urged the youth not to allow politicians to l
ead them into causing mayhem in their quest for power. ‘We should rather demand policies that will transform the lives of the youth through empowerment and job creation’, he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency