Contact Information
- Where – Ghana (Western Africa)
- Website – www.youthicons.org
- Contact Person – Nana Yaw Osei-Darkwa
- Email – nanadarkwa@youthicons.org
- Address – P.O.Box OS249, Osu-Accra, Ghana
Areas of Expertise
Youth Icons has expertise in a range of areas, including:
Main Aims and Objectives
Youth Icons is a youth oriented not-for-profit; non-government organization run by young people committed through empowerment of the youth of Africa with its office located in Accra the capital of Ghana. Youth Icons is highly concerned about the continued deterioration of the status of the youth of Africa who face growing levels of unemployment, poverty, armed conflict, disease, functional illiteracy and substance abuse among other socio-economic challenges, despite global advances made in technology, medical research, entrepreneurship development, leisure and recreational facilities.
Youth Icons’ work is geared towards empowering the youth to identify and develop their dreams and own the future. This Youth Icons seeks to achieve by enhancing the lives of youth by expanding learning opportunities available to them, pointing the way to a future full of hope and working together to create that future.
Youth Icons seeks to accomplish its goals through a broad based five-tier agenda:
- Education
- Environment
- Peace and Non violence
- Health
- Skills Training
Upholding the Principles of Conflict Transformation
Youth Icons’ foremost goal is to inspire and empower African youth to inform themselves about the challenges that awaits them in their lifetimes and take action to address them. This it hopes to achieve by advocating the fostering of youth development to involve youth in solutions to the problems that they face and create an opportunity for young Africans to be involved in the development of their nations. Youth Icons’ aim is simple, to use young celebrities (icons) to positively impact fellow youth. Empowering the youth to take key interest in issues bothering on youth development. Youth Icons therefore seek to promote a youth-led development process where young people are encouraged to take action after informing themselves of the many global challenges that confront young people and children.
Where and with Whom
Youth Icons liaises with both public and private institution as well as international agencies and individuals in sourcing the necessary logistics and funding for specific programs. Youth Icons seeks collaboration with identified state institutions like the Police Service, Ministries of Education and Health of African States, National Aids Commissions, National Drugs Control Boards and individuals in its educational campaigns and seminars as part of the broad five tier agenda. Youth Icons also seeks the collaboration of international non-governmental organizations, international educational institutions, African Union, United Nations Agencies as well as companies who share in its dream to join forces in the empowerment process.
Partners
Youth Icons works in collaboration with several local and international organizations such as the British Council of Ghana, Pajama Program (USA), Generations for Peace (Jordan), Peace Child International (UK), Cross Cultures International (Denmark) Pace e Bane(USA) and Readwide Ghana Limited just to mention a few.
Main Activities in the Field of Conflict Transformation
- Paintsil’s Peace Kids Project (July 2010);
- Wheel power Marathon – Youth Icons Project for the physically challenged youth (Annual event September 2010);
- Police-Youth Relationship Forum – Youth Icons project aimed at helping improve police-youth relationship. (February 2011);
- Securing ten thousand lives – project aimed at encouraging sustenance of the environment and humanity through tree planting (April-August of every year)
- Non Violence training program for regional youth organizers of all political parties in Ghana.
