Spio-Garbrah National & Africa Youth Essay Competition 2026

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

Ghana’s future is inseparable from Africa’s future and from the wider global environment in which Ghana operates.

Although Ghana is a relatively small country, many of the challenges confronting the country have important regional, continental and international dimensions. Youth unemployment, education, migration, climate change, external debt, trade, environmental degradation, illegal mining, corruption, development financing and the country’s ability to add value to its natural resources cannot be addressed effectively without considering Ghana’s relationship with Africa and the wider international community.

Therefore, the Spio-Garbrah Foundation and the African Business Centre for Developing Education (ABCDE) have established a National & African Youth Essay Competition to encourage young people to examine Ghana’s problems from both domestic and international perspectives and propose practical solutions.

This initiative is in honour of Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah’s birthday, 10 September 2026, and seeks to invite young people aged 16–20 to submit a 300–500-word essay on the theme: “What Ails Ghana, and What We Can Do About It”

The competition seeks to challenge participants not simply to identify Ghana’s problems, but to examine their underlying causes, international dimensions and possible solutions.

It also seeks to encourage young people to think about how Ghana can strengthen its productive capacity, compete internationally, create jobs, attract investment and contribute more effectively to African development.

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS: AREAS FOR CONSIDERATION

Participants may write on one or more of the following challenges and opportunities:

1. Youth unemployment and underemployment — creating jobs through entrepreneurship, industrialisation, technology and skills development.
2. Weaknesses in educational content — reforming education to better prepare young people for employment, entrepreneurship, innovation and global competitiveness.
3. Poor sanitation and waste management — developing sustainable systems involving citizens, businesses and local authorities.
4. Corruption and abuse of public resources — strengthening institutions, transparency, accountability and ethical leadership.
5. Galamsey and environmental degradation — balancing economic opportunity with environmental protection and responsible natural-resource management.
6. Environmental pollution and climate change — examining Ghana’s responsibilities, vulnerabilities and opportunities within the global climate agenda.
7. Crime, cybercrime and “sakawa” — addressing the social and economic causes of crime while promoting legitimate opportunities for young people.
8. Irregular migration and the lure of greener pastures abroad — creating an environment in which young Ghanaians can see viable futures at home while promoting responsible global mobility.
9. National leadership and governance — exploring how Ghana can develop more effective, accountable and visionary leadership.
10. Greed, materialism and declining social values — strengthening citizenship, ethics, community responsibility and national consciousness.
11. Producing more Made-in-Ghana goods for domestic consumption and export — building competitive Ghanaian industries and brands capable of succeeding in African and international markets.
12. Value addition to Ghana’s natural resources — particularly processing more Ghanaian cocoa into chocolate and other finished products and transforming Ghana’s gold into jewellery and other value-added products for export.
13. The Ghanaian and African Diaspora — developing stronger mechanisms for Ghanaian and African Diasporans to invest, finance businesses, transfer skills and contribute to national and continental development.
14. Ghana’s external debt and international financial relationships — examining how Ghana can manage its debts, strengthen its economy and protect national development interests while remaining a responsible member of the international financial system.
15. Ghana’s role in Africa and the global economy — examining how Ghana can increase trade, investment, innovation and cooperation within Africa and with the rest of the world.
16. Other major challenges or opportunities identified by participants.

Participants are encouraged to demonstrate how local problems can have international causes, consequences or solutions, and how Ghanaian and African young people can become part of addressing them.

OBJECTIVES

The competition seeks to:

• Encourage young Ghanaians and young people studying in Ghana to think critically about national development.
• Give young people a platform to propose practical solutions to Ghana’s challenges.
• Promote civic responsibility, patriotism and ethical citizenship.
• Strengthen research, analytical and writing skills.
• Encourage solution-oriented rather than purely problem-oriented thinking. – Promote understanding of Ghana’s place within Africa and the international community.
• Encourage entrepreneurship, innovation, industrialisation and value addition. – Explore constructive ways of engaging the Ghanaian and African Diaspora in development.
• Stimulate dialogue among young people, educators, policymakers, diplomats, business leaders and development practitioners.
• Identify promising young thinkers whose ideas may contribute to Ghana’s future development.

ORGANISERS

Organised by: Spio-Garbrah Foundation (SGF) & African Business Centre for

Developing Education (ABCDE)

In collaboration with: African and international educational, diplomatic, media, private-sector and civil-society partners

In Honour of: Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah’s Birthday

Launch Date: Thursday, 10 September 2026

Target Participants: Young people aged 16–20 years