Shirley Osei-Mensah, Student, blogger and Internet entrepreneur

I decided to speak at TEDxYouthInspire 2010 because I wanted to share my experiences in life and what I learned with young people like me and the whole world as a whole, to inspire them in living their lives.

I think the whole TEDxYouthInspire 2010 event was a great success and it was very inspiring and motivating.

Yawa-Hansen-Quao, Social activist and travel professional

It was a great honor for me to have been invited to speak at TEDxYouthInspire. I chose to speak on the topic “Redefining Empowerment” because I believe there needs to be more mainstream discussion on how BOTH genders need to change in order to see a future with fewer divorces, more successful female leaders & confident, responsible men etc. To me, the solution is easy; we need to help men and women build confidence, enhance skills and foster positive relationships.

Participating was definitely worthwhile and I would have loved more conversation/discussion time. TEDxYouthInspire was proof positive that there does exist a pool of vibrant young Africans whose voices should be heard.

For the future, we should remain in contact and perhaps meet periodically to share more ideas “worth spreading” and catch up on the progress of our individual initiatives.

Aboyeji E Iyinoluwa, Student leader and writer

I had a slightly different experience from everyone else because I was “virtually present”. It was about 5 am on the east coast and I must admit, I did nod a little but altogether it was very good from what I saw.

At first, I thought I would not have much to say but then I decided to use the opportunity to out a project I had been working on concerning entrepreneurship education and higher education.

It would have been great to be physically present. Pre-recorded videos are all good but they don’t make for the best TED talks.

All in all, I am glad that distance did not prevent me from connecting with all the wonderful people.

All in all, it is interesting and heartwarming to realize that TEDxYouthInspire was not only inspiring to the attendees but to the speakers as well. What remains is how to translate this positive outflow of youthful energy into concrete action.

“TEDxYouthInspire was a good start to a conversation that I believe should not end with just this maiden event. I am interested in collaborating to host more of such programs where we can share the ideas worth spreading.”

–Yawa Hansen-Quao, TEDxYouthInspire Speaker

“I found the recorded talks very effective especially the one from the former Sudanese war child. The inclusion of the recorded talks made the program more unique and less like many other such talks.”

–Abokuma Ellis, 25

“This event is the first time we have successfully deployed a webcast despite the connectivity challenges. I believe that the team was very dedicated to the course, which is missing in many teams I have worked with in the past.”

–TEDxYI team member

View photos and stay update with TEDxYouthInspire on Facebook.

TEDxYouthInspire: A full house

TEDxYI: During a break

Enjoying a talk

Joseph Quaye Amoo from partner organization Speak Africa

All photos by Rodney Quarcoo. View more photos and stay update with TEDxYouthInspire on Facebook.

Location Coordinator Worlali Senyo

Speaker Coordinator Allen Manser

Official Photographer Rodney Quarcoo with speaker Shirley Osei-Mensah

All photos by Rodney Quarcoo. View more photos and stay update with TEDxYouthInspire on Facebook.

Estelle Akofio-Sowah

All photos by Rodney Quarcoo. View more photos and stay update with TEDxYouthInspire on Facebook.

Yawa Hansen-Quao

Asanti Dance Theatre

Esi Yankah

Mac-Jordan Holdbrookes-Degadjor

Shirley Osei-Mensah

All photos by Rodney Quarcoo. View more photos and stay update with TEDxYouthInspire on Facebook.

Live from TEDxYI by Rodney Quarcoo

Nights went and days followed, finally the 10th April came, and it was time for the long awaited TEDxYouthInspire conference, hosted at the Kofi Annan Center of Excellence (KACE) by youthful organisers with the aim of sparking a social revolution on the African continent.

As expected the programme went well. Participants home and abroad expressed their excitement before, during and even after the event. A few of the many tweets were later assembled.

Nii Ayertey Aryeh (@ayerteyaryeh) expressed his excitement and had this to tweet, “Great time is an understatement, words can’t describe it.”

Yawa Hansen-Quao (@yawahq), who was one of the speakers at the event, showed optimism in African youth and “was proof positive that there exists a pool of vibrant young Africans whose voices should be heard.”

International viewers on Livestream could not forgive themselves for missing some of the speeches. Steve Sharra of Malawi expressed sadness when he missed Mac-Jordan’s informative presentation, “I missed Mac-Jordan’s speech. Tuned in too late. Will try & catch it on demand.”

A great number of the tweets received commented on the great performance by the Asanti Dance Theatre. Fienipa, an event sponsor, had this to say about the cultural performance, “The Asanti dance troop at TEDxYouthInspire is very good! Very interesting. Nice expression of power and beauty!”

Jennifer Barr from California’s Silicon Valley (@rjenbarr) after watching bits of the programme on Livestream.com called for everyone to join, “Watch this interesting TEDx from Ghana now! Watch the Asanti Dance Theatre perform.”

Other tweets that highlighted the great performance of the Asanti Dance Theatre included Samson Ojo (@samsonojo), Kwabena Appiah-Kubi (@atokubi) and Joshua Nyamadi (@daquicksilver) among others.

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

Watch video highlights from AfricaNews