Delivering the keynote address on the topic: Education for Youth Empowerment and Nation Building, H.E. Amb. Akua Sena Dansua underscored the importance of education in the socio-economic development of every nation. She observed that about 65% of the total population of Africa was below the age of 35 years whilst 35% of the population was between the ages of 15 and 35 years, making Africa the most youthful continent in the world. By 2020, the Ambassador noted, an estimated 3 people out of every 4 will be on average 20 years old. She stated that this youthful profile of Africa needed to be properly utilised for the continent’s development.
Amb. Akua Dansua lauded the numerous opportunities in Germany’s educational system, highlighting the issues of quality, accessibility and job guarantee after school. She accordingly bemoaned the bad attitude of some parents of African descent towards the education of their wards and called on them to take full advantage of the opportunities in Germany to educate their wards to the highest levels possible. In particular, she emphasised the need for parents to pay attention to female education in order to give the girls self worth and fulfilment in life. She lamented the situation where girls of African descent in Germany were denied proper education, making them to resort to early marriages, early pregnancies and little or no achievements in life.
Other guests who spoke at the ceremony included the Minister of Education in Hamburg, Mr. Ties Rabe, and the leader of the SPD Hamburg-Mitte, Mr. Falko Drossman. In all, nine students were awarded for academic excellence. All of them were students of African descent who had gained admission into various universities in Germany through hard work and the support of their parents. of the nine, three were of Ghanaian descent.