There is no doubt that, many an African youth has lost hope and are fed up with the difficulties in their societies. Dream again. It is worth noting that, in the 21st century, the riches of a nation is no longer determined by natural resources, military might or historical alliances but by the quality of her youth. As President Kufuor noted in his foreword; 'the youthful stage in life is a time for taking important decisions, which could influence your life for good or bad'. No one can kill your dreams, train your self to acquire skills, set your horizons high, be positive minded and if you work hard, you would succeed in life. The book acknowledges that, in the end it comes to basic questions; ask yourself; what can I do to help myself achieve my dreams? To the society, ask what it can do to help the youth? To the policy maker, we should ask him if his policy proposals are creating the wealth of opportunities, and right environment required for youth development. And if there are 'some' policies in place, we must further ask him; can those policies enhance the aspirations of the youth? Can they help to build and sustain the youth in the 21st century? The future of every society is tied to the quality of its youth. It is important to note that, life is an organized continuous journey. It is a journey requiring patience, thought, guidance, planning, sacrifices, balance and strength. It is important to create a balance between passions, sentiments and selfish ambitions on one hand, with reality on the other, if you are to succeed in life. The Dreams of Our Youth advocates for giving traditional education prominence in a modern setting. Traditional education prepared the youth beyond skills to acquire character and values to enable them to contribute fully to meet the needs and challenges the society faced whereas the current educational and skills training environment emphasise more on academic knowledge. The youth is growing in a society where greed, wickedness, lies, deceit, fear and doubt are so common that, you may have come to accept them as part of the 'virtues' of life. We have the examples of our Founding Fathers to inspire many a youth to dream and work hard to achieve their dreams. They were not a perfect generation as no generation would ever be. They left footprints for the present. Many of them built Universities, laid foundation for Science and Technology, built dams, whole cities and townships, road infrastructure, Teaching Hospitals, Ministerial Infrastructures, and above all a Dream for a better future and a prosperous nation; a nation where the present generation sacrifices for the next and prepares for the future. There is no doubt that, the youth have a role to play in the transformation of the society. The roles they play come in various forms but to ensure their active participation in the society, it is important they get involved in decision-making and or role to play on national issues. And as such be in a position to effect change in the society. Protections within the environment are necessary for your development. The youth needs a physical and social environment that promotes health and offers protection from physical harm. The book posits that, the youth 'need an environment providing a means to a sustainable and dignified livelihood'. Protection does not only mean physical concerns. The bigger issue is to protect your minds and souls from unhelpful foreign cultures and voices. The society needs to be a Mother for the youth. It is worth noting that, integration among and between the youth and the larger society is proving to be a growing challenge facing societies. On many University campuses today, the youth are split among ethnic unions. There is the Asante Student Union, Hausa Fraternity and Zululand, among other unions. Hitherto, the popular craze on campuses was Literary Clubs and Debating Associations. This is a book for the Universal Youth seeking guidance in life
About the Author: Arnold Boateng is a Ghanaian Consultant (SMEs and StartUps), Author, Politician, Entrepreneur, and a youth Counsellor. He was educated at Mampong Technical Teachers College as a professional teacher in Graphic Design, Wood Work, and General Science. After his national service, he continued to the University of Education, Winneba to study B. Ed Technology. He then pursued a Master's degree in Business Administration-MBA (with in-company practice) at the University of Sunderland, United Kingdom. He began faculty life at Maranatha and Entrepreneurship University Colleges where he was a lecturer in Human Resource Management, Organisational Behaviour, Small Business Marketing, Business Communication and Marketing Policy. He was the Managing Director of WACAL Minerals Resources from September 2010 to October 2012. Back in 2007, he had a brief spell with Lewis Metal Ltd between March and August of 2007 at Coventry, United Kingdom where he worked with senior Consultants in drafting their diversification plan, preparing financial models for their new products and evaluation of the critical success factors of their business. He was a National Monitor of Ghana School Feeding Programme in 2006. His duties included co-ordination of the activities of Regional field officers, performance evaluation/appraisal and organization of training seminars for the regional officers of the programme. He was also part of the team assessing the performance of the programme in schools, and educating and sensitising local communities on their roles and importance of the programme at Community Levels. Arnold is the Founder and Patron of Achievers Club. A club devoted to counseling the youth and teaching them entrepreneurial and self-employment skills. In March 2008, he became the Executive Director of NYAMEAMA CONSULT. A consultancy firm, devoted to business planning and growth strategies for SMEs. On the political front, Arnold is very active and serves as an advisor to the youth wing of the New Patriotic Party. He is also a Founding member and the General Secretary of the Civil Society group; Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), Ghana. "Africa, Dream again! May our youth find their places on God's planet and fulfil their destinies as they acquire employable skills and work to achieve their dreams." "I believe that, skilled and entrepreneurial youth are our best bet as a continent to create wealth and industrialise as a continent.'