Rooted to Rise: Youth Leadership Aspirations, Civic Participation, and the Barriers to Youth Agency in Northern Ghana
Anta NextGen Foundation. (2026). Rooted to Rise: Youth Leadership Aspirations, Civic Participation, and the Barriers to Youth Agency in Northern Ghana. ANGF Research Paper No. 1. Tamale: Anta NextGen Foundation.
Northern Ghana remains one of the most under-researched regions in sub-Saharan Africa, despite concentrating some of the continent’s most acute development challenges: high youth unemployment, low educational attainment, weak civic infrastructure, and persistent gender inequality. This paper examines the leadership aspirations and civic participation patterns of young people aged 15 to 30 in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions, drawing on primary survey data, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews conducted by the Anta NextGen Foundation (ANGF) between January and March 2026.