The University of Environment and Sustainable Development, UESD, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO are working to establish a partnership to research how to engage the youth situated in and around the Oil communities in the Western and Volta Regions.
This is aimed to provide empirical data to identify a target group and the specific need in the Oil and Gas sector. All things being equal, the first phase of the research is projected to end in the middle of the third quarter of 2022 after which UNESCO is expected to implement the research findings.
This was revealed when the Country Director for UNESCO Ghana, Mrs. Ama Serwah Nerquaye-Tetteh met with some Lecturers at the UESD campus at a meeting held in the Council Chamber led by the Dean of the School of Sustainable Development, (SSD) Prof. Anthony Amoah,
She stated her organization’s readiness to train the youth in the Oil and Gas sector in Ghana. She said, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 emphasizes the importance of partnership in driving and achieving sustainable development. Therefore, youth development is critical to UNESCO. In this vein, a partnership between academia and stakeholders is key for sustainable development.
Mrs. Nerquaye-Tetteh was happy about the UESD is also strategically positioned to ensure that the youth are honed with the requisite skills necessary to drive entrepreneurship and agribusiness, and address environmental challenges. She continued that, having a common interest, the Ghana Commission for UNESCO is partnering with the UESD to deliver state-of-the-art knowledge and implement actionable projects tailored to promoting youth and local content in Ghana’s Oil and gas sector for sustainable development.
In response, the Dean of SSD, Prof. Anthony Amoah, was happy about the move for both and expressed joy for the research collaboration between the UESD and UNESCO. He expressed appreciation to UNESCO for partnering with the UESD to conduct the research and assured the organization of the best outcome.
Prof. Amoah also called on UNESCO to create an internship opportunity for UESD students and also collaborate in other areas for the benefit of both parties. A proposal has since been submitted for the research collaboration
At the meeting, a research team was constituted with Prof. Anthony Amoah, Dean of SSD as the team leader, the other members were, Dr. Michael Karikari, Dr. Phillipa Jilly Joel Premkumar and Dr. Peter Asare Nuamah, representing the UESD team. The UNESCO team was constituted, by Mrs. Serwah Neequaye-Tetteh, Country Director for UNESCO, and Mrs. Afriyie Ofori-Koree, consultant for UNESCO Ghana.