Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Osman Abdulai AyarigaChief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Osman Abdulai Ayariga, has urged Ghanaian youth to move beyond being passive recipients of government interventions and take an active role in shaping the country’s future. Speaking at the opening of the 2026 National Youth Conference at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Mr Ayariga said young people must recognise their capacity to influence national development through their ideas, skills, leadership and civic participation. The NYA CEO said the Authority was committed to creating platforms that would strengthen youth participation in decision-making at the national, regional and district levels, in collaboration with the Ghana Youth Federation and other stakeholders. He urged participants to use the conference to establish meaningful connections, identify mentors, share ideas and develop practical solutions to challenges confronting young people. He challenged the youth to leave the conference with a renewed commitment to contributing to Ghana’s development, saying the country's future was already being shaped by the choices young people make today.