Over eighty Youth Leaders of four different faiths in the country at the weekend came together to deliberate on some topics they believe will set the right tone for responsible leadership among the youth.

The selected topics were; Honesty and Integrity, Agency and Accountability, Dress and Appearance and Physical and Emotional Health. The others included Education and Media and Entertainment.

The discussion took place in Accra at the 2018 Youth Leadership Conference jointly organized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through its National Public Affairs Council and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana.

The conference which was on the theme “Equipping Today’s Youth for Responsible Leadership”, was also aimed at providing the needed assistance to youth leaders to aid them effectively inculcate good social and religious habits in the youth they lead.

Participants, drawn from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Evangelical Lutheran church, Muslim community and Living God church, were taking through six topics selected from the FSY (For the Strength of Youth) program of the Church.

After speakers were offered the opportunity to present on a range of topics, participants were put into groups to discuss the various topics and also share their thoughts on how they were going to help their youth appreciate the importance of the various topics discussed.



Speaking at the event, Dr. Paul Fynn, Chancellor of Wisconsin University who doubled as chairman for the occasion noted in his welcome address that the current trend of indiscipline among the Ghanaian youth, is a wake up call on all stakeholders to intensify the teachings on the right standards.

He further explained that the forum was not meant to discuss things of the spiritual realm but particularly to deliberate on the falling standards among the youth and the strategies that can be adopted to remedy the situation.

Dr. Fynn said “if we don’t straighten up these children, they will blame us in future. This is a social problem we are having and all people no matter your religious background should get together and get to the bottom of this and help our people; otherwise, we will have problem upon problems”.

Dr. Osei Agyeman Bonsu, National Public Affairs Director, Ghana in his remarks expressed gratitude to the participating churches for their support to the program. He noted that, subsequent youth programs will involve more institutions to deliberate on the right standards that need to be emulated by the current crop of youth in the country.

Hon. Bom Kofi Dy-Yaka, Former District Chief Executive (DCE), Lambussie District in the Upper East Region, in his presentation on Dress and Appearance, explained that most youths are refused jobs because of the way they dress to job interviews. He added that the youth need to groom themselves well in other to attract respect in society.

The two other speakers, Blessing Ngozi and Faustina Otoo each presented on education and agency and accountability.

Some participants shared their insights with Mormon Newsroom Ghana. “The notion that it was something religious or something that was going to kind of coerce people to change their religion, was clearly defined and I believe we have been impacted”. “I am going back to teach my youth how to dress well” said Adu Darko.

Jennifer Obirih-Opareh said “I learnt that we as leaders will be accountable for our stewardship. I am also going back to encourage my youth to commit to their education to help them have a brighter future”.