LYFT Africa International Youth Day Symposium

On Friday, August 12, 2022, at least 57 young leaders from five counties in Liberia gathered at American Corner-Kakata in Margibi to commemorate the International Youth Day Symposium. The Symposium is an event organized by Leading Youths to Foster Transformation in Africa (LYFT Africa) in commemoration of International Youth Day which was tagged “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages”.  

The day-long Symposium held in partnership with the Ministry of Youths and Sports in Liberia brought together participants from five of Liberia’s 15 counties including Montserrado, Margibi, Nimba, Grand Bassa, and Bong. 

During the event, Pep Talks were delivered by vibrant young people from Liberia and Albania. Mr. Charles G. Kpan Jr, Managing Director of CYGEC IT Solutions in Liberia delivered a 20-minute pep talk on the topic: “Available Funding Opportunities for Entrepreneurs. Also in attendance was Mrs. Florence Kamara-Tokpah, Program Officer at Project Change International in Liberia who delivered another 20-minute pep talk on the topic “Starting and Running a Community Based Organization”,  while Ms. Jona Haxhialiu,  Former Intern at The Hague Academy in the Netherlands, virtually delivered her 20-minute pep talk from Albania reflecting on “The roles of youth in ensuring the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals”.

At the Symposium, youth leaders were placed into six teams and were engaged in focused-group discussions. The teams named after natural features in Liberia included Wologizi, Kpatawe, Ducor, Piso, Sapo, and Putu. The participants worked in their teams to prepare and present Symposium papers on the topic:  ‘My One-Shot Event for a world for all Ages’.

A panel of judges led by Emmett K-Max Paye included Ms. Linda T. Kai of LYFT Africa, Ms. Esther K. Kromah of Rescue Women Micro Agricultural Cooperative, Mr. Anthony Ntem of Great Minds-Africa, and Jedediah L. Johnson Financial of YALI Liberia Alumni Chapter judged the participants’ papers.

After the judges’ perusal of the papers and participants’ presentations, Judge Paye and his colleagues saw it fit to pronounce as first, second, and third winners Team Putu, Kpatawee, and Piso respectively. The teams won cash prizes of LD $5,000.00, LD $3,000.00, and LD $2,000.00 correspondingly.

Team Putu, the winning team included tough-talking youth like Hannah K. Fallah of The Real Initiative, Annette F. Potter of Faith Care foundation, Shadrach K. Thomas of Get Set Enterprise, Elijah Saah Dennis of Youth for the Advancement & prosperity of the future, and Emmanuel J. Kollie of One Love Volunteer Youth. Team members of Kpatawee included Mustapha Bah of Innoignite, Emmanuel Togbah of Sustainable Health Alliance-Bong Chapter, Christine B. Sajery of Tech Women Incorporated, and Johnson S. Fully of Students Against Corruption-Mother Princess T. Charity Foundation. As for Team Piso, members included Singbeh J. Arku of African Youth Peer Review Committee, Sattarius G. Sherman of Girls in Tech Liberia, Simeon A. Sherman of Girls Educational Engagement Project, Victor Ibra Sebo of Health Focus and Fatumata L.Kosiah of Tussu Global Leadership submit.

The organizing team of the event was led by Sunnie Antonio Marcar Jr, Executive Director of LYFT Africa, and included energetic volunteers such as Momodu Gray, Peter S. Dewellie, Mariam Dukuly, Omaru Kanneh Jr, Linda T. Kai, Francis M. Sayon Jr, Jayah B.D. Konuwah III, Abu S. Kaba, Hawa Bolay, Charles Ricks, and Morlyn A. Morlue.

At the end of the event, every participant received a certificate signed by the ED of LYFT Africa and Minister Dester Zeogar Wilson, Minister of Youth and Sports.