Accra, April 26, GNA – Madam Sarah Norkor Anku, an Intellectual Property Attorney, has urged the youth, particularly students to be innovative and creative to drive positive change in society.
She said the youth were an incredible and largely untapped source of ingenuity and creativity, and there was the need to encourage them to discover their potentials, especially in Intellectual Proper (IP).
Madam Anku, also a Senior Partner at Anku.Anku At-Law, was speaking at the launch of her book titled “Monetising your Creativity and Innovation: An Introduction to Intellectual Property.”
The 182-paged book on Intellectual Property forwarded by Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister for Environment, Science and innovation, targets young creative minds and intends to help such minds navigate the world of intellectual property to achieve maximum benefit from their creativity and innovation.
The book, presented in the form of a dialogue for easy understanding of the otherwise unfriendly and abstract subject of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), provides information on how to monitise one’s creativity and innovation using intellectual property rights.
Situated within the African context, the dialogue uses the mythical Kweku Ananse – the god of knowledge – to explain in detail to readers what the subject entails.
The book launch, which coincided with the commemoration of World Intellectual Property Day on the theme: “IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future,” sought to among other things, explore how the youth were driving positive change using their energy, ingenuity, curiosity, and creativity to steer a course towards a better future.
Madam Anku said the fresh perspectives, energy, curiosity and “can do” attitude of the youth, with their hunger for a better future were reshaping approaches and driving action for innovative change.
World Intellectual Property Day 2022, she stated, was an opportunity for young people to find out how IP rights could support their goals, help transform their ideas into reality, generate income, create jobs, and make a positive impact on the world around them.
The Author said to date, the subject of IPRs had been perceived to be rather technical, abstract, and unfriendly yet it was key to improving the lives of many, particularly the youth.
She explained that the youth in Africa and Ghana were known to be very creative, yet their creative ideas and work often did not end up on the market as products of value.
While most youth had creative and innovative ideas that could propel their prosperity when given the right tools and opportunities, statistics from the Ghana Statistical Service showed that 12 per cent of Ghanaian youth were unemployed and more than 50 per cent underemployed.
Madam Anku, therefore, noted that as a private law firm that specialised in Intellectual Property law and practice, Anku.Anku At-law and its subsidiary PatentAssist sought to contribute to the promotion of Intellectual Property Rights by creating awareness and adding knowledge in the field of IPRs.
Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister for Environment, Science, and Innovation, said he was committed to the sustainable development and management of the environment and the adaptation and application of science, technology and innovation through the formulation and implementation of sector policies for socio-economic development.
He said a new generation of talented youths were solving the problems of today with ambitious, ground-breaking technology, creativity, and innovation.
The Minister said it was more crucial in today’s knowledge economy for young inventors, entrepreneurs, and creators to understand the basics of intellectual property and how they could capitalise on it to generate sustainable income.
Mr Mark Okraku Mantey, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts, appealed to individual, corporate bodies, and philanthropists to support the youth by purchasing and distributing copies of the books, especially in various second cycle institutions.
He said the next phase of life was in Intellectual Property and innovation, especially with phone technologies becoming increasingly pervasive, and thus called on the youth to take up IP as it was economically viable.
Madam Betty Mould-Iddrisu, a Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, said, “Intellectual Property is the wave which keeps our world growing and making it a better place. It is the wave which brings about new things in life.”
Madam Mould-Iddrisu, also an Intellectual Property enthusiast, said those who shared their intellectual creativity were changing the world positively, and urged the youth to venture into IP to achieve their goals, generate income while tackling challenges and supporting national development.
GNA