The Students’ Representative Council (SRC) in collaboration with the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has held the first TEKTALK for this academic year on the theme: “Inspiring the Youth for Nation Building”. In his welcome address, TEKTALK Coordinator, Mr. Nii Otu Tackie-Otoo said the institution of the event was a deliberate effort to enable students appreciate the real world to arm themselves with the requisite mindset and sacrifices needed for success and nation building.
He indicated that TEKTALK is a platform for students to get inspired, engage with speakers and listen to people who are successful in their various fields of endeavor to inspire and motivate them to become useful citizens in future.
Representing the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joshua Ayarkwa, Provost of the College of Art and Built Environment (CABE), stated that many years ago, as students of this nation, they were challenged and pushed for changes for the entire country.
He said however, that today, change has come and as youth of the country, a great inspiration is needed to ignite the country to take up greater challenges. He said the youth constitute a significant percentage of the population of Ghana and therefore considered the theme as very timely and relevant.
He was of the view that the future of this country, no doubt, rests on the youth and acknowledged KNUST’s role in preparing the youth to be disciplined and hardworking in order to make them well placed to contribute to efforts at building the country.
Ms. Nana Aba Anamoah, a broadcaster at EIB Network, spoke on the need for networking and encouraged the students to make friends with those who will impact positively on their lives after school.
Former President of the Republic of Ghana Jerry John Rawlings, in his address to the youth stated that the recent catalogue of allegations against him that has resurfaced in the media is a calculated effort by certain vested interests who feel intimidated and threatened by his level of integrity.
He said at 71, he has held on to his integrity for so long, and that he is proud of it and would not compromise on what has brought him this far. He however noted that the attacks on him are rather attack on the sense of purpose of the youth. “I am not the one they are really after, you are the ones they are after”. To break that tenacity, that belief in you” he told students at the Great Hall.
The Former President also spoke on the damage of global warming and the need for young people to educate themselves adequately on its effects, stating it was necessary to re-cultivate the habit of tree planting to help ease the scourge of global warming.