STARTRIGHT Summit II - 2023

School of Thoughts Ghana hosted the biggest higher education exhibition on Saturday 3rd of June 2023 at the Walewale sports stadium in Walewale, NorthEast region. The event hosted institutions including University of Development Studies, University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Christian Heritage University College, University of Mines and Technology and Zipline Ghana. There were over 450 participants including students, teachers and young people from the Walewale community. 

The exhibition was characterized by career coaching sessions, university stands/booth engagements, remarks from government representatives including the regional minister and regional director of the Ghana Education Service. Keynote speakers at the event shared their remarks on the theme of the event: SDG 4.3: Equal Access to Affordable, Technical, Vocational and Higher Education in Northern Ghana.

Impact:

• Number of Students benefitted – 450
• Number of Institutions attended – 5
• Increased awareness of higher education options in Ghana
• Increased number of student applicants from Northern Ghana
• Increased publicity for participating Universities/colleges/institutes
• Fulfillment of cooperate social responsibility by partners/sponsors
• The event has been recommended by key state and non-state actors to be an annual event to increase the awareness of higher education opportunities in Northern Ghana 

Schools of Thoughts Ghana seeks to use the knowledge and experience gained from their activities in Northern Ghana to inspire more community development initiatives, direct the social responsibilities of corporate groups into education and support the existing government initiatives that aim at ensuring and affordable and accessible high education. 

Some quotes from participants in the event: 

“…Thanks to School of Thoughts Ghana, I now know about the opportunities I can get in attending certain universities” - Student.

“…I wish all the final year students in the entire North East region would get the chance to be part of this program to learn about opportunities beyond their comfort zones”, Honorable Yidana Zakaria – Regional Minister

The organization remains committed to bridging the educational gap between the Northern and Southern part of Ghana through human capacity building, opportunity creation and advocacy.