Upper East Regional Library - Bolgatanga

Today, we celebrate an exceptional leader, visionary, and mentor, Mr. Ziblim Alhassan Betintiche, Executive Director of the Ghana Library Authority.

Your dedication to transforming libraries, promoting literacy, and empowering communities across Ghana continues to inspire us all. Thank you for your unwavering commitment, guidance, and impactful leadership.

May this new year bring you good health, greater success, wisdom, and many more years of remarkable achievements.

Happy Birthday, Sir! Wishing you a joyful and fulfilling celebration.

🚀 UPSHIFT Training Success: Empowering 20 Youth Innovators!

We successfully concluded our intensive 5-day UPSHIFT Training at the Bolgatanga Youth Engagement Centre (YEC) from December 8th – 12th, 2025!

This crucial program equipped 20 dynamic youth leaders (aged 19-24) with essential skills to tackle real-world community problems.

🌟 Who Participated?

Our cohort included 5 experienced YECAB member and 15 enthusiastic new youth leaders, fostering a powerful mix of mentorship and fresh ideas.

💡 What Did They Learn? (The UPSHIFT Journey)

The training followed the powerful UPSHIFT methodology, moving from understanding problems to creating actionable solutions:

1. UNDERSTAND & OBSERVE (Day 1)
Focus: Identifying complex social challenges and digging into the core causes.

Key Tool: Mastering the Problem Tree Activity to map root causes and consequences, ensuring solutions address the foundation, not just the symptoms.

2. DESIGN (Day 2 & 3)
Focus: Shifting to human-centered design and generating creative ideas.

Key Activities:
Persona Development: Creating detailed user profiles to design solutions based on real community needs and empathy.

User Research: Learning effective techniques (interviews, observation) to gather authentic human insights.

Ideation: Practicing Brainstorming Methods to generate a high volume of innovative solutions.

Empathy Practice: Deep dives into emotional intelligence using tools like the Johari Window to strengthen self-awareness and teamwork.

3. PROTOTYPE & TEST (Day 4)
Focus: Turning concepts into tangible models and assessing viability.

Key Activities:
Rapid Prototyping: Quickly building low-cost models to test ideas, allowing for fast feedback and improvement.
Resource Mapping: Using Capability & Input Charts to realistically plan by assessing existing skills versus required resources.

4. PITCH & COMMIT (Day 5)
Focus: Leadership, communication, and formalizing commitment.

Key Activities:
UPSHIFT Pitch Practice: Teams refined and presented their solutions, boosting their advocacy and public speaking skills.

Mock Facilitation: Practicing training skills to ensure knowledge transfer within the YEC.

Commitment Circle: Participants formally committed to implementing their new skills to lead social change in the region.

✅ Outcome

Our youth leaders are now equipped with the tools to innovate and drive change. Stay tuned to watch as these 20 leaders transform their prototypes into real, impactful YEC projects!

The Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) is harnessing digital innovation to reignite Ghana’s reading culture and engage the younger generation. In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Acting Executive Director Mr. Ziblim Alhassan Bentilchie emphasized how the Authority is leveraging partnerships with organizations such as UNICEF, EIFL, Books for Africa, and Book Aid International to expand access to books and promote lifelong learning across the country.

Reading has power to address social challenges - GhLA Executive Director - Ghanaian Times The Executive Director of Ghana Library Authority (GhLA), Mr Alhassan Betintiche Ziblim, has underscored the power of reading as a tool for addressing pressing social challenges, particularly il­legal mining and environ­mental degradation. He stressed that lit­erature equipped young people with....