Chairman’s closing words

My fellow board members and I are honoured to be part of this exciting organisation. It has been humbling to be able to serve and work with such talented young men and women from diverse backgrounds.

Although the past year has been extremely challenging for the organisation as we were gripped by the global pandemic and all the limitations it brought. I am struck by the collective resilience shown by members of this organisation, a trait developed through years of commitment and dedication.

The last five years has seen the Future of Ghana transition from an initiative showcasing and celebrating global youth talent, to an organisation creating platforms for its network to impact Ghana’s development. Along the way we have witnessed the engagement of over a thousand young people through innovative forums and workshops in Europe and Ghana alike. We have ensured the voice of a section of our core audience was heard through the release of our research report on second generation British-Ghanaian behaviours; a report that helped influence national national youth policy in Ghana. We have also seen our Alumni network continue to grow annually allowing the organisation direct access to some of the brightest young minds globally.

However, there is always room for more growth. As an organisation, we have redefined our delivery framework which will now be driven through our five FOG pillars - Volunteering, Livelihoods, Community, Advocacy and Alumni - and we are increasingly confident of making an even bigger impact in the next five years.

We believe that young people can make all the difference to their communities and their lives through the power of volunteering. We are hopeful that our range of volunteering programmes and projects will help facilitate this – whether in person or virtually. This year and beyond, we hope to strengthen relations with our Alumni and provide a range of networking and capacity building opportunities to support their amazing work. Similarly we believe by engaging third-generation Ghanaians and supporting them on their education and career pathways and providing tangible internship, mentoring and employment opportunities we are helping set them up for the years to come.

We are most grateful to all our volunteers, alumni and executives for their dedication to the organisation all these years. We look forward to what lies ahead for our organisation and our community.

Bennard Owusu

Future of Ghana, Chair Of Trustees