CAN A LOCAL CHIEF SAVE A CITY? WHY TESHIE€™S BOLD YOUTH INNOVATION MOVE FEELS DIFFERENT

Can a Local Chief Save a City? Why Teshie’s Bold Youth Innovation Move Feels Different

-A few weeks ago, I was sitting under a mango tree in Teshie with my cousin Kobby, sipping sobolo and complaining about how everything feels stuck.

Stuck jobs.

Stuck roads.

Stuck youth with all the talent but nowhere to go.

He sighed, scrolled through his phone, and said, “Ei, have you seen this new partnership thing between the Teshie Traditional Council and some Papillon group? They say it’s for innovation and urban renewal or something.”

I laughed. “Oh, another ‘big idea’ that’ll vanish by next month?”

But then… I kept thinking about it.

Because maybe, just maybe, this one’s different.

Let me explain.

For years, traditional councils have mostly been seen as ceremonial—cut ribbons, settle disputes, attend funerals. That’s about it. But this? This move by the Teshie Traditional Council to team up with Papillon (a creative social enterprise) to push youth innovation and urban renewal… it’s actually kind of revolutionary.

Like, when was the last time you heard a local chief say, “Let’s build co-working spaces, support creative businesses, and reshape the city through youth-led ideas”? I mean, that’s the stuff we wish politicians would do, and now it’s coming from the stool house?

Here’s what I’ve noticed lately: the youth in places like Teshie aren’t lazy. They’re actually bursting with creativity—graphic designers, shoemakers, coders, animators, urban farmers, even drone pilots (no joke). But there’s no support system. No incubators. No mentorship. No one saying, “We believe in you—let’s build something real.”

And that’s where this Teshie-Papillon project hits different.

They’re not just talking about ‘innovation’ like it’s a buzzword. They’re creating physical spaces—The Kpledom Centre, for example—where young people can co-create, get mentorship, and even work on solutions to real community problems, like waste management, education, or digital access.

I could be wrong, but… this might be one of the first times a traditional authority is actively flipping the script—from culture protectors to change facilitators.

And honestly? It gives me hope.

Because we’re tired. Tired of watching talented young Ghanaians fade into the background. Tired of watching our communities crumble while we wait for the government to show up. Tired of seeing the same tired strategies that don’t speak our language.

If this partnership actually delivers—and not just headlines, but real spaces, real funding, and real empowerment—it might set a new standard for how we rebuild our towns from the inside out.

It might remind other traditional councils that they’re not just symbols… they’re leaders.

They have the power to spark the fire that’s already sitting in the hearts of their youth.

-So now I’m asking myself:

What if every town did what Teshie is doing?

What if the change we’ve been begging for has actually been sitting in our backyard all along?

And maybe—just maybe—it’s not a politician or a foreign NGO that’ll save us…

…but our own elders, saying, “Let’s build this together.”