TEDxYouthInspire: Inspiration from the cheetahs

TEDxYI Audience by Rodney Quarcoo

On 10th April 2010, the much-anticipated TEDxYouthInspire was held at Accra’s Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, AITI-KACE, and broadcast to the global audience live through the power of the Internet.

The event, which was hosted by Google Ghana’s Country Lead Estelle Akofio-Sowah, challenged, engaged and inspired attendees. All five young speakers who graced the TEDxYI stage did a good job on the day. This piece examines the details of what they shared.

Esi Yankah, Founder and President of the African Mentor Network, in her speech titled The African Dream, tackled the conflict between personal goals on one hand, and societal and family expectations on the other. Her speech was deeply introspective as she enumerated various obstacles that often lie in the way of achieving the African dream and suggested ways of countering them. Esi was clearly passionate about her dreams: “Then I thought, why should we even live in someone else’s dream? Why can’t we create our own? We, Africans come from a continent which has bred some of the brightest and most innovative people in the world like Wole Soyinka and Kofi Annan.”

Next to mount the stage was the 18-year old Internet prodigy, Shirley Osei-Mensah, who is a student of the online-based Keystone National High School. Shirley shared insights on 10 keys to success. Her talk was direct and engaging as she highlighted each of the 10 points on her list. Shirley emphasized the importance of focus and sacrifices, in any endeavour, and dismissed the oft sought-after overnight success as an illusion. “If you want to achieve something, you must strive hard for it”, she said.

Aboyeji E. Iyinoluwa, another teenage whiz kid, then came on board, albeit virtually, to speak on The Purpose-Driven Cheetah. Aboyeji, who is President of the Board for University of Waterloo publication, Imprint, drew inspiration from the renowned Ghanaian economist Professor George Ayittey’s dissertation on why Africa has failed to achieve its development goals. Aboyeji pointed out the relevance of youth action in addressing the continent’s backwardness, citing examples of some initiatives he’s involved in that are aimed at addressing some of the problems facing the youth.

In what was probably the most professional and freestyle delivery of the day, Yawa Hansen-Quao, Founder of the Leading Ladies Network, touched on a new approach to women empowerment that goes beyond the usual confrontational style employed by many women’s right movements. Touching on how equal opportunity for both men and women will contribute to the ultimate good of society, Yawa emphasized that it was completely possible for women to have successful careers and family if they receive the right support from society. The trendsetting first ever female Student Council President in Ghana drew applause from the gathering for her deep insights and oratory.

To round off activities for the day, Mac-Jordan Holdbrookes-Degadjor, blogger and social media activist, gave a comprehensive submission on The Positive Effects of Social Media. Mac-Jordan said he was attracted to social media because of the love for writing and literature he cultivated in Senior High School. Presenting a wide array of tools to the audience, Mac-Jordan emphasized how social media has radicalized the gathering and dissemination of valuable information. He went on to share how this revolution has positively influenced his life, getting the opportunity to be part of exciting development-oriented events, such as the global climate change conference, COP-15, recently held in Copenhagen, Denmark, meeting important global personalities and establishing himself as an icon on the Ghanaian Internet scene. Mac-Jordan finally urged his fellow youth to make the optimum use of social media as this could open doors of opportunity for them beyond their wildest imaginations.

The host of the day, Estelle, steered affairs in a very coherent, seamless and easy-flowing manner that also reflected her passion for youth, Ghana and Africa.

TEDxYouthInspire may have come and gone, but what lingers on is the seed that’s been planted in attendees’ hearts by their contemporaries-the desire and energy to lead an Africa-inspired change on the continent. There’s already talk ongoing in social media circles about what people in the Accra area can do to keep the ideas discussed at TEDxYI alive. The stage has been set for action!

The Planning Committee is deeply grateful to the speakers, volunteer team members, attendees, partners and sponsors for creating an extraordinary event.

TEDxYouthInspire by the numbers

• 72 registered guests
• 5 speakers
• 1 live performance
• 4 TEDTalks
• 1 Academy-award nominated short film
• 500 total views of the event via Livestream

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