News
Ghanaian Innovator Joseph Owiredu Wins Best Young Innovator Award at 7th Africa Tourism Leadership Forum
Joseph Owiredu, a young Ghanaian entrepreneur, took home the Best Young Innovator Award at the 7th Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) and Awards, held last Friday at the Gaborone International Convention Centre.
The forum, which ran from September 3rd to 6th, 2024, marks the third consecutive year that Botswana has hosted this prestigious event.
Owiredu, the CEO of Fihankra ComTech Limited—a start-up that specializes in developing personal safety and security innovations for Africa’s tourism industry—was selected from a pool of over 154 entries submitted to the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge.
His project, which focuses on enhancing safety in tourism through innovative tech solutions, earned him the top spot after presenting his demo to the adjudication committee.
Rosalia Haufiku Laudika, a student from Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), claimed second place, while Ajena Jafar, Founder & CEO of Tour Plug from Uganda, finished third.
The challenge provides young African innovators and entrepreneurs in the travel and tourism sectors a platform to showcase their ideas to global investors, partners, and mentors, offering invaluable opportunities for funding and collaboration.
Joseph Owiredu had been shortlisted as one of the three runners up, along with Laudika and Jafar, following the 6th Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit, held in May 2024 in Windhoek, Namibia. Unfortunately, due to last-minute obstacles, he was unable to attend the awards ceremony in Botswana.
His award was received on his behalf by Francis Doku, Media Executive and COO of Digital Plugin Limited, a Ghana-based media and digital company.
Owiredu, has expressed his gratitude, saying, “This recognition highlights the immense potential for technology to redefine safety standards in African tourism. I am grateful for the opportunity to showcase Fihankra ComTech’s work.”
The 2024 edition of the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge, began with the call for entries in November 2023 and closed in March 2024.
It received entries from various African countries, including Angola, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
Previous winners of the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge, such as Rwanda’s Aline Murekatete (2020), Ghana’s Eugene Allotey (2021), South Africa’s Scott Blount (2022), and Kenya’s Gloria Kisilu have gone on to receive international attention following their wins.
The 7th ATLF and Awards, organized in collaboration with the Botswana Tourism Organisation, Africa Tourism Partners, and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, was a platform for industry leaders to chart a path forward for tourism in Africa.
Themed “Charting a New Path Forward for Intra-Africa Travel, Tourism, and Investments,” the forum gathered key players from Africa’s travel, tourism, hospitality, and aviation sectors.
Botswana’s Vice President and Acting President, Slumber Tsogwane, officially opened the forum, emphasizing the critical role of tourism in driving economic diversification and growth across the continent.
The awards ceremony, which served as the climax of the forum, honored individuals and organizations excelling in categories such as innovation, sustainability, and leadership.
The event has become a beacon for showcasing African talent and driving tourism forward through collaboration, innovation, and private-sector-led growth.
News
Ghana-Colombia strengthens ties through diplomatic engagement
In an important diplomatic engagement, the Colombian Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Daniel Garces Carabali paid a courtesy call on the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, at his office in Accra to discuss some key areas of collaboration.
The meeting focused on pressing issues, including security, decongestion of Ghana’s prisons, prison reform programmes, training programmes, improving the welfare of prisoners and enhancing disaster management in the country.
The courtesy call underscores the growing bilateral ties between Ghana and Colombia, building on previous engagements, such as the visit of the Colombian Vice President to Ghana in 2023.
The meeting demonstrates the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation and addressing shared challenges.
News
Ghana to host African Catholic Journalists from August 10
The Union Catholique Africaine de la Presse (UCAP), also known as the African Catholic Union of the Press, in collaboration with the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners-Ghana (CAMP-G), is set to host its prestigious Triennial Congress from August 10 to 17 August, 2025.
The programme would be held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Legon, Accra, Ghana.
This landmark event, the most significant gathering of Catholic journalists in Africa, will bring together media professionals, researchers, and experts in digital technology from across the continent and beyond.
The theme for the Congress is: “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Congress Highlights
The UCAP Congress 2025 will feature discussions and deliberations on critical issues arising from or related to integral human development, particularly within the framework of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Some of the key sub-themes to be addressed include:Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Values, Deploying AI in Eco-friendly Business Start-ups in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, Technology and the Reprogramming of Social Reality, Distortion of Reality in Social and Digital Media, Ecological Education and Action Against Unsustainable Exploitation of Natural Resources, and Media and the Promotion of the Recommendations of the Synod on Synodality in Africa.
Participants will include media professionals from both ecclesiastical and lay organisations, media researchers and academics, representatives from the Vatican, government agencies, NGOs, civil society, and the digital technology sector.
Objectives of the Congress
The primary goal of this Congress is to strengthen the capacities of media professionals and educate the public on the necessity of preserving human values amid rapid technological progress. Specific objectives include; Training 100 media practitioners in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, with a focus on balancing innovation and human values.
This will include promoting ethics and bioethics in technical research and technological innovations through media.
Advocating for human values such as respect for life, human dignity, charity, solidarity, and human rights and assessing the impact of technological progress to better understand the challenges, risks, and opportunities presented by AI will be part of the objectives.
UCAP is a continental organisation dedicated to promoting communication within the Catholic Church and its partners in Africa. With a mission to foster spiritual growth, collaboration, and responsible journalism, UCAP works to spread the Gospel, uphold human values, and support developmental initiatives across Africa and beyond.
UCAP is an independent, autonomous, non-political, and non-profit organisation comprising African Catholic journalists, communicators, academics, researchers, and institutions in various media fields.
