The first African Youth Festival has been opened at the University by the Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Prof. L. K. Sam-Amoah, on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah. The festival attracted over 1,000 youth from across Africa in this maiden youth festival which was organised by the Full Gospel Business Men International. The fellowship hitherto, was attended mainly by elderly men to share in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This move is to ensure the continuous growth and sustainability of the FGBMI to draw the youth into the saving knowledge of Christ. Some of the participants for the Festival came from Honduras, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso and Togo. Welcoming the delegates, Prof. Ampiah said UCC was one of the best universities along the Atlantic Ocean which sought to train students with the requisite skills needed to solve societal problems and make informed decisions for a successful living in the 21st Century. Prof. Ampiah indicated that, he was delighted that the youth who formed about 60% of the African population were gathering to think about something positive, since they were endowed with vision, energies, talents and goals. However, he noted that most of the youth were confronted with issues such as social vices, unemployment, drug and substance abuse and the risk to get rich quickly. These he said, exerted pressure on the youth to seek direction in life. Added to this, he indicated was the addiction to social media even with some seeking guidance and counseling from the internet. Prof. Ampiah endorsed the theme for the festival which is “1 Direction” saying “Obviously, Christ truly provides the true direction to all human quests in life. He is the way, the truth and the life”. He said nations in Africa and indeed the world were looking for men and women of integrity who would champion the cause of real development devoid of greed and corruption. “I believe the spirit-filled Christian has the ability to demonstrate to the world that, this is possible. So, Jesus is counting on you not to let our countries down”, he urged the participants. The national president of FGBMI, Mr. George Prah, said the festival has been a dream for a long time and has now come true. He said, as a fellowship, the FGBMI has passion for the youth to develop their interests in the word of God and follow Christ. The national president said, the fellowship has recognized that the future belonged to the youth, so it was bringing them together to learn and share their understanding and faith in God. He urged the youth to focus on Christ no matter where they came from since the future would be good for them. “Recognise that our tomorrow will be better than our today, so we need to point Africa to one direction only, which is Jesus”, he said.
