Spreading the #UpForSchool message at West Africa Regional Conference

Global Youth Ambassadors Yussif Mohammed Abul Hairi and Iddriss Musah Iddriss attended the 2015 West Africa Regional Conference hosted by the Mandela Washington Fellowship where they represented A World at School. Here is a summary of their report.

Introduction

This past April two of our GYAs from Ghana attended the West Africa Regional Conference for Young Africans.

The conference was sponsored by the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) in an effort to showcase young professionals to both the public and private sector and expose them to available entrepreneurial and leadership opportunities. Many local, national, and international organisations from the public and private sector participated.

The Conference

During the conference there was an expo session where everyone was able to showcase his or her organisation. Yussif and Iddriss were assigned two tables to manage, one for A World at School and one for Best Tomorrow Foundation, an organisation that advocates for the right to education for every child with a focus on youth empowerment and the spirit of volunteerism.

The pair took this opportunity to highlight their work with A World at School as advocates for education. Many people visited the table throughout the day and learned about the need for global education. Our GYAs also had information about the #UpforSchool campaign and were collecting signatures in support of education. The organisers of the conference also showed up to sign the petition and lend their support.

After the expo session, there was a Women in Tech Forum where US Ambassador to Ghana, Gene A. Cretz, was in attendance. The Global Youth Ambassadors spoke with her about the campaign and, though she could not sign the petition, she did voice her approval of the work they are doing with A World at School.

Furthermore, the duo had a chance to meet with other Global Youth Ambassadors who were in attendance, including Selassi from Ghana, Ijeoma from Nigeria and Benjamin and Williams for Liberia. They learned more about each other and exchanged contact information. All did a great job representing A World at School and collecting signatures.

Results

Overall Yussif and Iddriss were happy with the event. They accomplished all the goals they set for themselves while managing to collect over 350 signatures in support of the #UpforSchool campaign! They enjoyed the opportunity to meet other GYAs in the area while highlighting A World at School to much success. However, there were some challenges the pair had to undergo including inadequate funding and a lack of technology. 

For a better experience they have suggested that the Global Youth Ambassadors should be given some instruction on how to represent themselves and A World at School at such conferences. It would also be beneficial to have more events where GYAs can meet and interact with one another in person.

Furthermore, based on their experience, Yussif and Iddriss have found that some technical training along with exposure to entrepreneurial and funding opportunities would help make such conferences an even bigger success.