INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT OF CATHOLIC STUDENTS (IMCS) - PAX ROMANA UCC HOLDS BUILDERS’ CONFERENCE 2015

                                                                               By Germaine Adoma & Regina Ansaba Mensah

As part of activities outlined to help groom responsible and effective future leaders, IMCS PAX-UCC LOCAL and Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Catholic Chaplaincy has held the 2015 edition of their annual youth empowerment program dubbed Builders’ Conference.  This year’s edition was on the theme: “Redefining the concept of education: A necessity for the 21^st century”. The program came off at the School of Medical Sciences Auditorium at the University of Cape Coast on sat 17^th, October 2015.

This year’s conference saw participants from the Ankaful Nursing Training College, OLA Teachers’ Training College, Abakrampa Senior High School, Sammy Otoo Senior High School, St Augustine’s College and University of Cape Coast.

The programme started with an opening prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. Fr. Patrick M. Amos. The conference was chaired by Dr. Benjamin Kofi Nyarko, a member of the chaplaincy and a former head of the Department of Geography and Regional Planning, UCC.

The programme was graced with three speakers who spoke on the three topics under the theme. The first presentation was done by Dr. Denis Aheto, the head of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Department on the topic “Equipping intellectuals for Maximum Impact”. In his presentation, he explained who an intellectual is, key features of an intellectual and the measures of becoming an intellectual. He mentioned three great young intellectuals like Kenyan Richard Turere, inventor of Lion Light, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Arthur Zang of Cardiopad. He advised participants to set great visions and also to equip their intellect.

Mrs. Anita B. Turkson did the second presentation. Mrs. Turkson is a Counsellor and a Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast. She presented on the topic “A sound personality; the secret to a healthy relationship”. She said mature love is the main ingredient of a healthy relationship. She remarked that relationship entails a lot; hence, partners should fairly know each other’s temperament to relate better. She advised that participants must exhibit trust, honesty and loyalty since they are traits of a good and healthy relationship.

In his delivery on the third topic “Harnessing your Potentials”, Mr. Richmond Frimpong, an author, a motivational broadcaster on social media and the Vice President of Databank Ghana, used the biblical story about the parable of talents to drive home his point. He indicated that “everyone has a God-given potential” but as the talents were given to each according to his abilities, so has God given us different gifts according to what God knows we can do with such gifts. He said individuals, especially the youth, needs to identify their God given gifts in order to enable them harness their potentials and God alone can help in such course. He, however, urged participants to continually build their personal relation with God for Him alone can help them identify their original purpose on earth. He ended by reiterating that failure to allow God to help us identify and put into use our God-given potentials amounts to causing financial loss to the resources of God.