Victor Paa Kwesi Mensah, BMS, PGDE, MBL, CMgr, PGCert (M&E), Cert (Youth Work), Cert (Diplomacy), MCMI, FInstLM
My name is Victor Paa Kwesi Mensah, a Ghanaian but a global citizen at heart. As an employee of the Commonwealth Secretariat (ComSec), I also see myself as believing in and promoting all issues of co-existence through mutual Respect and Understanding. As stated earlier, i am a staff of the Commonwealth Secretariat, in its Youth Affairs Division. I am a Programme Manager (Africa Region), of the Commonwealth Youth Programme(CYP) and based at the CYP Regional Centre for Africa (CYPRCA) Lusaka, Zambia.
I joined ComSec in 2007 from the School of Business, at the University of Cape Coast (UCC). Before joining ComSec, I was also a course tutor at the Centre for Continuing Education (CCE), UCC, guiding distance learners (mostly working adults), in their bid to gain degrees and diplomas in Commerce and Management Studies from the University of Cape Coast. This perhaps was the beginning of my interest in distance learning and methodologies to make it more efficient, hence OERs and WikiEducator.
Currently, i am the Commonwealth Secretariat's lead person in the Africa Region on matters of Youth Employment, Youth Entrepreneurship Development and Sustainable Livelihood issues, including HIV/AIDS and ICT. My work portfolio, titled, "Youth Enterprise and Sustainable Livelihoods" (YESL), includes activities in:
- HIV/AIDS,
- Conflict Management,
- Human Security,
- ICT
- Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Development
- Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative (CYCI)
My work involves managing YESL activities in the 21member countries of the CYP Africa Region, namely: Botswana, Cameroon, Cyprus, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda, United Kingdom and Zambia
All these and more are geared towards helping achieve the tenets of the Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE)
I am an ardent supporter and promoter of WikiEducator across the world - through online and face-to-face activities. I am a WikiNeighbour and a WikiAmbassador for WikiEducator. I am also currently a member of the WikiEducator Community Council - elected to assist in the growth, development and promotion of WE across the globe.