Two Ghanaians have been named Young Global Leaders (YGLs) by the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF), a statement from the organisers said on Wednesday.
Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia and Franklin Cudjoe were named recipients of this year's prestigious award in recognition of their professional
accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world through inspiring leadership.
The honour is bestowed each year by the WEF on some of the most extraordinary leaders in various fields below the age of 40 from around the world.
For 2010, the Forum selected 197 leaders from 72 countries and all stakeholders of society (business, civil society, social entrepreneurs,
politics and government, arts and culture, and opinion and media).
The two Ghanaians are part of the 17 young leaders selected from sub-Saharan Africa.
Cudjoe and Kuenyehia are honoured alongside an impressive list which includes Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, YouTube Co-founder Steven Chen, French Cabinet Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Musician Wyclef Jean, Agatha Sangma, Minister of State - Rural Development from India and Roger Federer, professional tennis player.
They were chosen by a selection committee chaired by Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan out of a pool of more than 5000 nominations.
The 2010 award recipients will become part of the broader Forum of young global leaders that currently comprises 660 outstanding individuals.
The forum convenes at bi-annual summits, as well as forum events and meetings throughout the year, and collaborates on initiatives to tackle some of the key challenges of the generation.
This year, the summit will be in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from May 2 - May 7, the first time in Africa and it would be the largest ever gathering of the YGLs.
Cudjoe is the Director and founder of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education (IMANI).
IMANI is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation dedicated to fostering public awareness of policy issues concerning business, government and civil society.
Cudjoe is also the Acting Chief Evangelist of Mpedigree, an innovative technological tool for fighting counterfeit medicines, and co-author of "The Water Revolution: Practical Solutions to Water Scarcity."
Kuenyehia is an Oxford-educated lawyer specialising in international finance and energy.
He is Managing Partner of Oxford and Beaumont Solicitors in Accra and London and an adjunct lecturer in entrepreneurship at the Ghana Institute of Public Administration.