Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 95 formal means for encouraging the input of the youth in regional integration in West Africa, its practicality is limited. Within the formal sphere, there appears to be a minimal level of influence or role played by the youth in promoting regional integration in West Africa. The reasons may not be difficult to find. The activities of the Youth Department itself can best be described as insipid. Examining the ECOWAS official website for instance, the Department lists as part of its 2008 activities, the“Publication and wide dissemination of the Policy and Strategic Plan of Action(2 documents) in French and English and the implementation of the various recommendations from the Youth Forum, meetings of the ECOWAS National Directors of Youth and Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports. The extent of implementation is however not specified. Apart from this, a perusal of the 1993 Treaty of ECOWAS indicates a conspicuous silence on the specific role open to the youth in accelerating the process of regional integration in West Africa. This is in spite of the fact that some mechanisms at the national level provide room for the youth and youth organisations to play a role irrespective of how unpronounced it may be as regards regional integration in West Africa. The Youth in Ghana and West African Integration: An Assessment The youth in Ghana generally come under the National Youth Council(NYC), which is the umbrella organisation set up by the state to manage and promote affairs concerning the youth. In conducting its activities, the National Youth Council is guided by the National Youth Policy 1999. Within the framework of the National Youth Policy,“Youth” is defined as people within the age bracket of 15 to 35 years. 121 According to the most recent national population census of the Republic of Ghana, conducted in 2000, the youth constitute about 33 percent of the entire population census of the Republic of Ghana. 122 Operating with this age bracket, a plethora of youth organisations may be identified in Ghana. For the purposes of this work however, a few of them would be highlighted. The first category of youth organisations in Ghana may be identified as student based organisations such as the National Union of Ghana Students(NUGS), the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students(GNUPS) and the student Representative Councils(SRCs) of the various secondary and tertiary institutions throughout the country. Such secondary institutions with SRCs include Achimota School, Presbyterian Boys Secondary School, Wesley Girls High School, Accra 121 National Youth Policy 1999 122 Ghana 2000 Population and Census, Summary Report, p.18.