Joshua Kpodjie Opey from Ghana is the Executive Director of the Aban Center for Global Policy. The project he leads is called the Digital and Sustainability Experience, a platform that brings young people together to learn practical ways to leverage the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) on sustainability and the digital-enabled job creation. By doing so, it addresses a critical challenge: employment.

The project also provides opportunities for young people to take practical action. Over the past two years, it has brought together more than 4,000 young people to engage and interact with professionals already working in the sustainability s, from the IFC and the World Bank to ministries and other organizations, so that these young people can learn about the practicalities of securing a job in that field. His expectation is that the entire development agenda should be created and centered around young people, because the only way to truly achieve sustainable development is by actively involving young people in the drive.

He believes that as the world faces multiple global crises, new ways and new pathways are needed to solve them, and that is precisely where young people come in.

Digital and Sustainability Experience

The Aban Global Policy Centre has implemented the Digital and Sustainability Experience program to introduce young people to the opportunities in the fields of sustainability and the digital realm. The main goals of this program include exploring sustainable development opportunities, engaging young people in solutions, promoting expert collaboration, and helping young people master digital skills. The activities include keynote speeches, panel discussions, networking, and masterclasses. The program features the “Eco-Awards”challenge, a sustainability showcase presenting youth-led innovations, and has previously carried out a collaborative activity to plant 1 million trees in Ghana. The program has invited speakers from well-known institutions such as the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), LinkedIn, the University of Oxford, Google, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation of Ghana, the Ministry of Energy, and Tesla. It has benefited more than 4,000 young people and has successfully grown into Africa’s largest youth-led sustainability and digital transformation conference.