By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, (Bono), Aug 31, GNA – Professor Charles Peprah, the Head of Planning at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to increase investments in technology and innovations.
He advised the MMDAs to leverage technological evolution and create adolescent-friendly cities for young people to actively participate in solving emerging urban challenges.
Prof Peprah said emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), presented an enormous opportunity for MMDAs to properly manage and deliver services and to also create opportunities for adolescents to contribute to urban development.
Prof Peprah’s call was contained in a statement issued by the Global Media Foundation (GloMeF), a human rights and media advocacy non-governmental organisation on the sidelines of the just ended maiden Future Cities for Adolescents Conference 2026 in Accra.
The GloMeF and its partners organised the conference on the theme: “Reimagining Ghana’s cities for adolescent health, inclusion and resilience”.
They include Citizen Watch Ghana and Indigenous Women Empowerment Network, NGOs executing the Resilient City for Adolescents (RCA) Project being funded by Fondation Botnar through Ecorys United Kingdom.
A copy of the statement, which was signed by Mr Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GloMeF was made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani.
“City development can no longer be driven solely by traditional planning approaches that position young people as passive beneficiaries of urban development,” Prof Peprah stated.
Instead, adolescents must be recognized as active stakeholders, innovators, and co-creators of the cities in which they live.
Prof Peprah emphasized that technology could provide adolescents with platforms to identify challenges within their respective communities, generate innovative solutions, collect and analyze data as well as communicate with decisionmakers and thereby participate in urban planning processes.
He noted that AI had huge potential to revolutionize city development and planning by enabling authorities to make better use of data and understand the changing needs of urban populations.
Prof Peprah encouraged the MMDAs to explore innovative digital tools that could identify gaps in areas like public transportation, education, healthcare, sanitation, recreational spaces, environmental management, safety and other services that directly affect adolescents.
“AI provides an opportunity for us to rethink how we plan our cities and how we engage young people in the planning process,” he said, and stressed the need for the MMDAs to move beyond conventional approaches.
Prof Peprah called for stronger mechanisms that allowed adolescents to participate directly in decisions affecting their communities.
The MMDAs must create avenues for young people to share their perspectives, propose solutions and influence policies and projects that affect their health, education, mobility, safety, and overall wellbeing.
In a welcoming address, Mr. Ahenu explained that the conference sought to strengthen collaboration among the participants.
He called on the MMDAs to treat adolescents as partners in development, rather than merely recipients of services.
The conference provided an important platform for stakeholders to examine how Ghana can transition towards cities that are more responsive to the needs, aspirations and rights of adolescents.
It was attended by government officials, local authorities, academia, civil society, development organizations, urban planning institutions and young people who deliberated on the future of Ghanaian cities.
Discussions focused on adolescent health, inclusion, resilience, youth participation, technology, innovation, and sustainable urban development.
The participants highlighted the growing need for cities to anticipate the social, economic, environmental, and technological changes that will shape the lives of today’s adolescents to become successful leaders, professionals, and entrepreneurs.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
[email protected]
