ON Y VA! on Saturday, December 10 organized the maiden edition of its Youth Development and Bilingualism Workshop in collaboration with the French Embassy, at the GECC auditorium in GIMPA in Accra.
The theme for the event was ‘Real World Skill Exploration – Exploring Self-Employment Options’.
The opening prayer was said by Apostle Dr. Peter Bonney. Thereafter, the CEO of ON Y VA!, Seth Kwame Appiah-Kubi, gave the reason for the gathering.
The event focused on exposing the youth to ways in which they could become self-employed to earn a living without necessarily depending on the government, all the time. It also enlightened the attendees on the benefits of being bilingual, especially in the corporate world.
The French Embassy was represented by Julien Lecas, who is the Head of Cooperation, Lou Alma, who is the Language Policy Officer, and Mrs. Sandra Larbi, who is the Project Assistant. The Embassy of Suriname was represented by H.E Fidelia Graand-Galon, the Ambassador of Suriname to Ghana. France Volontaires was represented by Telngar Rassemeye and Justine Gegout.
There were resource persons as well who equipped participants with knowledge and skills in animation.
The guest speakers for the day were Kwasi Amofa Agyemang, Van Vicker, Claudia Owusu Boadi, Albert Tetteh and Joel Mensah Asmah.
Right after the purpose of gathering was given, Kwasi Amofa Agyemang was called upon to deliver his speech.
He spoke about how far being self-employed has brought him as someone who has been a lawyer for over 20 years and has his own law firm, KAA LAW.
Then, H.E Fidelia Graand-Galon also gave a speech to inspire the youth.
Speaking in her local language, she encouraged the youth not to let anything prevent them from reaching their full potentials, while citing herself as an example, for instance, the first woman from her village to become a diplomat.
Then, a speech from Julien Lecas followed. He spoke about the importance of speaking French, relating it to the corporate world. He also outlined the great contributions of the French Embassy towards the development of French education in Ghana.
It was then followed by an interlude from a student of St. Francis Preparatory & JHS. It was a poetry recital on French language dubbed “la langue française”.
Then, Van Vicker, ascended the podium to deliver his speech. He touched on self-employment opportunities in the creative arts industry and shared his experiences on how he broke through despite so many failed attempts. He also emphasized on how important and helpful being able to speak French is, in the creative arts industry.
There was another interlude after Van Vicker’s speech. There was a dance performance by the group named “Kingsmen”. Their performance really made the place lively.
Then, Claudia Owusu Boadi, the third guest speaker, spoke. She spoke coherently on the merits of being bilingual, and went ahead to share and experience she encoutered resulting from language barrier. She also made touches on some things to consider before becoming self employed.
After that, there was a lunch break, alongside a musical interlude. There was a musical performance by Godbless Adjei while the attendees had lunch.
After the lunch break, the second session continued.
The fourth speaker for the day was in the person of Albert Tetteh. Albert touched on how the youth can support their potentials with education.
He made mention of the fact that your talents can take you far but, being educated will make you stay relevant with your talent for a long time.
Right after that, the last speaker for the day, Joel Mensah Asmah, spoke. Joel, a translator, an interpreter and a French teacher, delved deeply into bilingualism, with regard to French. He stressed on the importance of French and the opportunities one can have when one takes French seriously. He shared his experience with French over the past few years. He also spoke about the benefits of networking.
Thereafter, there was an interlude with a great performance by students of St. Francis School. It was a drama dubbed “La veille de Noël”.
The animation workshop continued right after the interview. It was facilitated by Cycil Jones Abban of Parables AniImation Studios.
After the workshop, there was a short interaction. The participants were given the platform to ask questions and participants were as well given the chance to share their opinions on bilingualism.
The event came to an end with a closing prayer said by Apostle George APPIAH-Kubi.
In all, there were about 200 attendees.
Being the first edition, the attendance was impressive and the event ended successfully.
The event was sponsored by French Embassy in Ghana and Kinani floral.
The media partners were Mx24 tv, Exclusive hype Tv and 3news.
The MCs for the day were Belinda Ngmenbuobo Banoenumah and Charity Kessewaa Frimpong.
The schools present included St. Francis Preparatory and JHS, Golden Crown School, Happy Heart School, Achimota SHS and a few students from the bilingual school at Ring Road.