Ghana YMCA To Establish A West African Media Hub

The Ghana YMCA last week concluded a 3-day historic conference that brought together stakeholders and partners to create the first ever Media Hub Education Centre (MHEC) to serve the Sub Saharan Region of Africa.

The Kick Off conference, which run from 19th – 21st March 2019, came on the back of the tremendously successful All On Board film project which trained over 80 film makers from Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia; as well as funded and supervised the creation of six films by the trainees.

The comprehensive cross-sector engagement over the 3 days involved stakeholders such as Ghana’s Ministry of Education, German Embassy in Ghana, National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts (GAFTA), Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), National Youth Authority (NYA), GHOne, ETv Ghana; as well as partners of the YMCA such as Weltfilme.org, National Adult Education Association of Liberia (NAEL), Sierra Leone Adult Education Association (SLADEA) EQWIP Hubs and the South African Film Academy, Bread for the World and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development provided financial support for the conference.

The comprehensive engagement which also involved esteemed industry players, provided an overview of the curriculum that must be taught at the Hub, a roadmap for the creation of a regional film network and most importantly a model for an economically sustainable Media Hub.

With 50% of Ghana’s population below age 16, there is an urgent need to diversify education to reduce the competition for entry into formal educational institutes. There is also a need to balance technical knowledge with occupational skills, which is necessary for servicing the growth of developing nation.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Conference, Executive Director of the Ghana YMCA, Mr Kwabena Nketia Addae, called on stakeholders to abide by their commitments to create the MHEC to empower African youth across the subregion.

Mr Kwabena Nketia Addae, Exectuive Director of the Ghana YMCA.

“We stand on the brink of history today, we are on the path to creating a facility that will forever impact the lives of young people across Africa. We have built a sustainable framework that can deliver the impact we wish to achieve. I therefore call on all of us to work together and make this wonderful dream come true,” he said.