CONFERENCES • TRAINING PROGRAMS • BUSINESS PITCH • MUSICAL CONCERT • GAMES • TOUR
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Welcome to
AfricaYouth Festival 2025
Reflect. Review. Reset.
Africa Youth Festival (AYF) is Africa’s biggest gathering of youth leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs, and change makers from across the continent and the diaspora.
This year, we’re bringing 2,000+ young delegates to Accra, Ghana for 6 unforgettable days of:
- Skill-building trainings
- Powerful conversations
- Cultural celebration
- Music, games and legacy-making moments
Whether you’re new or returning, this is your time. This is your Africa.
Choose your track
MUN, leadership, entrepreneurship, technology, creative arts and more
Recognized Certificates and awards night
Celebrate excellence and your role in building Africa
Musical Concert and Cultural Showcase
Featuring top African artists and the Afro Jollof battle
Africa Youth Games and tours
Experience Ghana’s heritage, cultural, and energy
Why Participate?
- Build real-world skills through governance workshops and Model United Nations simulations.
- Gain business knowledge, pitch ideas, and access opportunities for mentorship and funding.
- Learn practical ICT, AI, and vocational skills to thrive in the modern job market.
- Perform or exhibit your art, music, or fashion on a continental stage.
- Connect with 2,000 young leaders from 50+ countries, building long-term opportunities and collaborations.
- Experience Africa’s rich heritage through music, dance, food, and traditions.
- Get certificates, awards, and public recognition for participation, leadership, and creativity.
KEY OBJECTIVES
We aim to equip youth with essential skills while strengthening pan-African solidarity.
- Equip youth with 21st-century skills
- Foster pan-African solidarity
- Encourage policy dialogue
- Provide a platform for networking and innovation
Program Details
Theme
“Reflect, Review and Reset: Igniting the Future of Africa’s Youth”
Date
4 – 9 November, 2025
Hosted in
Accra, Ghana
Venue
Movenpick Ambassador Hotel
Special Guests
John Dramani Mahama is the sixth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. He was also the fourth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, having previously occupied the high office of President between January 7, 2013 and January 6, 2017.
Born 66 years ago to Mr E. A. Mahama and Madam Abiba Nnaba in Damongo, in the now Savannah Region of Ghana, Mahama made history as Ghana’s first President to serve at all political levels. He was a Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi Constituency, Deputy Minister for Communications, Minister for Communications, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, and President of the Republic of Ghana.
Mahama considers the combination of history, communications, and social psychology—courses he studied for his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees—to have profoundly shaped his views, thoughts, and understanding of the human condition and contributed significantly to his development as a person.
Under President Mahama’s first administration, Ghana witnessed massive infrastructure development across all sectors of the economy, including education, health, ports and harbours, aviation, rail, oil and gas, ICT, and many more. His vision and strategic investments in these areas solidly positioned the country as a Lower-Middle-Income Country for its next development phase.
Beyond investments in socio-economic infrastructure, President Mahama is passionate about investing in people. This amply reflects his commitment to social justice and equity, particularly through his lauded efforts to advance the interests of girls and women across all spheres. Notably, Ghana attained gender parity in basic education under his leadership.
John Mahama further demonstrated his commitment to women’s empowerment by appointing several women to prominent roles in his administration. In 2020, he made a groundbreaking decision to nominate Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as his Vice-presidential candidate, marking a first for a major political party in Ghana. He repeated this bold choice in 2024, and with their victory, Ghana is welcoming its first female Vice President.
Mahama is an avid reader, author, and historian. Over the course of his career, he has written for several newspapers and authored several publications. He has also published a memoir, his first book, titled ‘My First Coup d’État and Other True Stories from the Lost Decades of Africa.’
President Mahama’s love for reading and thirst for knowledge are complemented by his strong interest in technology and agriculture. His connection to agriculture is personal, longstanding, and rooted in his upbringing. His father was a prominent rice farmer, educator, and Minister in Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s administration.
President Mahama is keen on increasing agricultural productivity and strives to motivate the younger generation to approach farming as a viable and profitable business, particularly by leveraging technology and value addition to maximize its potential.
President Mahama is a former Chairperson of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Commission. A strong proponent of intra-African trade, he is a former Chairperson of the African Union’s High-Level African Trade Committee. He played an instrumental role in laying the foundation for the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose secretariat is now in Ghana.
President Mahama was also the first Co-chair of the United Nations Advocacy Group on the Sustainable Development Goals and is the current Chair of the TANA Forum, a high-level forum on security in Africa headquartered in Ethiopia.
In recognition of his sterling contributions as a leader and role model on the African continent and around the globe, John Mahama has been conferred with several honorary doctoral degrees from distinguished universities worldwide, including Ekiti State University, Ilorin University, and Igbinedion University in Nigeria; the University of Aberdeen in Scotland; and the Lyon Business School in France.
With his resounding victory in the December 2024 elections, John Dramani Mahama becomes the first president in Ghana’s history to be democratically elected to a non-consecutive second term.
President Mahama is an exemplary family man with strong Christian values. He has been happily married to Lordina Dramani Mahama for over thirty-two years.
Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is a four-term Ghanaian legislator representing the good people of North Tongu in the Volta Region.
Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa has had an illustrious public service career spanning some two decades. He has a reputation for being a strong advocate for ethical, transparent and transformational leadership. For nearly eight years, between 2017 and 2024, he served as Ranking Member of the select committee on Foreign Affairs. He rose to become the first Chairman of the reformed Assurances Committee. Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is currently the Chairman of President John Mahama’s flagship anti-corruption drive, Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL).
In 2009, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Information by President John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory. By that appointment, he made history as the youngest Deputy Minister of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. His Excellency John Dramani Mahama also appointed him a Deputy Minister for Education in charge of Tertiary Education in 2013.
His academic credentials include reading Political Science, Philosophy and Economics for his first degree at the University of Ghana, an LLB from the University of London, an MSc in Defence and International Politics from the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, an MA in Communications and PR from the University of Leicester and an Executive Certificate in Leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School of Governance.
Before he was called into national politics, he was the MD of Savvi Solutions and before then a University of Ghana Branch Manager of Carrera Computers.
Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa is the recipient of numerous awards including an honorary doctorate degree from the AMET University in India, being adjudged the Most Impactful MP in 2024, medal of honour from the Ghana Medical Association, special award from the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, citation from the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation and making it to the list of the 2025 Most Influential 100 Africans.
He is a prolific author, former President of NUGS, member of the Parliamentarians for Global Action, accredited member of the Institute for Public Relations (APR), member of the African Leadership Network, Fellow, African Youth Governance Convergence, member of the American Council for Young Political Leaders and Chairman of the Ghana-Cuba Parliamentary Friendship Association.
He is married to Lawyer Nuhela Seidu, a Senior partner at Sory@Law. They are blessed with two children.
Honourable Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak received his instrument of appointment as Minister for the Interior on 30th January 2025 after due Parliamentary vetting and approval.
He is a devoted and seasoned Ghanaian politician and current Member of Parliament for the Asawase Constituency in the Ashanti Region.
Hon. Muntaka holds a strong educational background with a Master’s Degree in Development Policy and Planning and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture Economics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) respectively.
Throughout his illustrious political career, Hon. Muntaka has held various key positions in opposition and government, such as Minister for Youth and Sports in 2009, Majority Chief Whip from 2013 to 2017 and Minority Chief Whip from 2017 to February 2023.
He has also chaired several committees, including the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and is currently Chair of the Committee on Finance and Monetary Affairs of the Pan-African Parliament. He also served as a member of the Appointment Committee of Parliament.
Hon. Muntaka’s executive education background is equally impressive, with certifications from renowned institutions such as Harvard Kennedy School and Research Institute for Policy Analysis (RIPA) International.
He is fluent in multiple languages, including Hausa, Twi, Dagbani, and English. He is a Muslim and married with children.
As the current Minister for the Interior, Hon. Muntaka is poised to leverage his wealth of experience and expertise to drive meaningful change and enhance national security in Ghana.
George Opare Addo is a prominent Ghanaian lawyer, politician, and youth advocate. He was born on October 27, 1975, in Akuapem North, Ghana. He began his education at Adisadel College and later earned a degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Ghana. Opare Addo’s political journey commenced with his election as the National Youth Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2018, a position he secured by defeating Ernest Brogya Gyamfi. He was re-elected in 2022, reaffirming his leadership within the party’s youth wing. In his public service career, Opare Addo served as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Akuapem North Municipal Assembly from 2009 to 2017. His tenure was marked by initiatives aimed at local development and youth empowerment. In January 2025, President John Dramani Mahama nominated Opare Addo as the Minister for Youth Development. This nomination underscores his dedication to addressing youth-related issues and fostering development across Ghana.
Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, PhD, FGA, is the (first female) Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana. She is a Professor of Linguistics and an experienced university administrator, with over 21 years’ experience in the higher education sector.
Professor Amfo has built her experience in governance through attendance of formal management and leadership programs as well as on the job training. She brings a lot of innovation and resourcefulness to her leadership positions and is adept at change management. As Vice-Chancellor, she’s leading her university to uptake technology in all its operations, while keeping people as the focus. As part of the execution of her vision, she launched a seven-million-dollar digitalization program to enhance the experience of the University’s students, faculty and staff.
Professor Amfo previously served as the Pro Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for Academic and Student Affairs, the Dean of the School of Languages, and the Head of the Department of Linguistics, of the same university. Her masters and PhD degrees, both in linguistics, are from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and her Bachelors in French and Linguistics is from the University of Ghana.
She is a member of many prestigious societies and organizations such as the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Commonwealth Professionals Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, German Academic Exchange Services, and the International Women’s Fellowship Leadership Program. She is a pioneer fellow of the African Humanities Program (AHP) of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). She currently serves as the inaugural President of the African Humanities Association, an offshoot of the AHP.
Her national and international board membership include the following: Consultation Board Member of the International Pragmatics Association; Assistant Secretary-General of the Fédération Internationale des Langues et Littératures Modernes; Administrative Board Member of the International Association of Universities; Steering Committee Member of the Tallories Network of Engaged Universities, Chairperson of the Interim Executive Committee of the African Pragmatics Association and Governing Council Member of the Sustainable Development Solution Network.
In 2021, Professor Amfo was awarded as the GUBA (Grow Unite Build Africa) Nana Yaa Asantewaa Woman of Enlightenment for her resilience and work in academia which has created knowledge, built confidence and broken-down barriers to opportunities. In July 2023, She was recognised by Glitz Africa as the Ghana Woman of the Year for Excellence in Education.
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