This year’s edition of the annual Springboard Road Show is to be held virtually starting from this Thursday 8th April, 2021. There will be four virtual events in April, June, September and November.
This was made known by Mrs Comfort Ocran, Executive Director of the Springboard Roadshow Foundation – organiser of the event, at the media launch on the weekly Springboard Virtual University broadcast over the weekend.
“Your favourite Springboard Road Show is going digital in 2021; we will have planned four virtual events to give our participants an all-year-round experience”, Mrs Ocran indicated.
The inaugural edition of the Springboard Road Show was held in January 2007 at the Osu Presbyterian Hall in Accra. Since then, the Road Show has gone on to become a household name, with young people converging in their thousands every year to listen to achievers from various fields and interact with them in a mentoring experience.
After travelling round the regions of Ghana for a decade and moving on to Gambia and Nigeria, organisers of the Road Show announced in their 10th year that they were turning their attention to digital engagement with participants.
“At that time, we could not have anticipated the COVID-19 pandemic. We just knew that the online audiences were participating from different towns and countries and enjoying the experience. And it was so flexible to engage them that way,” said Rev. Albert Ocran, co-founder of the Springboard Roadshow Foundation.
Rev. Ocran added that the theme for the Springboard 2021 Road Show is ‘REPOSITIONING’. The deliberations at the various Road Show events will therefore focus on reviewing the past, redesigning the present and reimagining the future.
Commenting on the theme, Mrs Phyllis Woode-Nartey-Head of Group Communications and Synergies at the Enterprise Group who spoke at the launch, said REPOSITIONING resonates well with the Enterprise Group because the company has repositioned as a digitally-enabled firm for the benefit of its internal and external stakeholders.
“The Enterprise Group continues to partner with Springboard because their objectives are aligned with our values of professionalism, trust, excellence, reliability and friendliness,” Mrs. Woode-Nartey opined.
She added that “Springboard delivers relevant knowledge and the tools to navigate your way forward in life. And it is the place to be if you want to move your professional life forward.
“The virtual Springboard 2021 Road Show is itself a lesson in resilience, adaptation and making adversity work for you,” she added.
Making his submission, the Head of Channels at UMB Bank, Dr. Myles Hagan, said Springboard has over the years provided a rare opportunity for mentors to connect with more youth, who are the future of the nation’s growth and prosperity.
Dr. Hagan is himself a Springboard Road Show alumnus, and said: “Anytime I stand on the Springboard platform, I reflect on the past and God’s grace toward me; and it assures me of a great future for participants.”
He added that “Being early adopters of digital technology has enabled UMB to effectively transition to the new normal. We will keep deploying digital platforms to sustain the momentum”.
Taking his turn, Mr. Franklin Sowa-Group Head of Marketing, Graphic Communications Group, urged young people to focus more on building quality relationships and less on being transactional and seeking quick wins.
“The relationships I have built through networking on such platforms have given me significant career equity,” Mr. Sowa stressed.
“Even the sky will not be the limit if you make a deliberate effort to be better each day with the platform that Springboard provides.”
He added that the collaboration with Springboard supports the Graphic Communications Group to remain relevant and dynamic, and to operate in sync with the expectations of existing and potential clients.
He further commended organisers of the Springboard Roadshow for creating an exceptional platform that is recommended for everyone, especially the youth.
“Listening to life-transforming stories on the Springboard Road Show always inspires hope. It must become a national conversation,” Mr Sowa added.
This Thursday’s event will have Nana Dwemoh Benneh, CEO of UMB Bank, and Dr. Joyce Aryee of the Salt and Light Ministries as the main speakers. The event will have alumni of the Springboard Road Show from all over the world sharing stories of how it has impacted their lives.
Participants can join this Thursday’s event on Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms from 10-am to 12-noon.
This year’s Springboard Road Show is sponsored by MTN Pulse, Enterprise Group and UMB Bank, with media support from Graphic Communications Group and the Multimedia Group.
Organisers are confident that virtual participants at the Springboard 2021 Road Show will enjoy not only the knowledge but also a holistic experience in every respect.
“Springboard 2021 will demonstrate to participants, using real-life examples, how you navigate your way from the bottom to the top of the professional ladder”, Mrs. Comfort Ocran concluded.
