By Gilbert Azeem Tiroog
Zebilla (U/E), Aug. 28, GNA- The National Peace Council has organised a two-day capacity-building workshop on hate speech, information disorder, religious intolerance, and protracted conflict for stakeholders at Zebilla in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.
About 60 participants, including political activists, youth groups, members of the Fulbe community, and persons with disabilities, were drawn from the Sapeliga, Kopella, and Widnaba communities.
The workshop aimed at exposing them to the harmful effects associated with hate speech, misinformation and disinformation while empowering them to be able to assess the authenticity of fake news and limit its spread.
It was also to equip them as peace ambassadors to champion peace in their respective communities and advocate religious tolerance for sustainable development.
The activity was sponsored by the United Nations (UN) Peace Building Fund through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Mr Alexander Koomson, the Deputy Director in Charge of Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the National Peace Council, said the advancement of technology coupled with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) had made it easy for the creation and spread of fake news.
He said that had the tendency to plug communities into conflict, hence the need for political actors and youth groups, mostly dominant on social media platforms, to be well equipped to enable them to authenticate information and not be lured into actions that could jeopardize the peace being enjoyed.
He said, “The main objective of the UN Peace Building Fund is to prevent conflict, and we have noticed that there are some communities that have a history of conflict and are healing, and it’s important we work with those communities to heal entirely”.
Mrs Rita Benewah Yali, the Deputy Director of Administration and Human Resource Management at the National Peace Council, noted that the development of every nation hinged on peace, and it was important that the participants showed some level of commitment to the furtherance of peace.
She stressed the need for them to be tolerant of other’s views and use dialogue to resolve their differences.
Mr Edmond Alagpulinsa, a Human Rights Expert, presenting on hate speech and information disorder, said the spread of fake news was punishable by law and urged the participants to be cautious about what they shared or forwarded on media platforms.
Mr Vincent Asibi Akparibila, the Deputy Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Zebilla constituency, indicated that the workshop had been impactful and would help shape how political activists react to issues on the media platforms.
Madam Lucy Ayaba, the Deputy Women Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Zebilla constituency, said the knowledge gained from the workshop would shape her utterances, especially during the political season.
Mr Abass Imoro, the Assistant Director of Bawku West District, lauded the effort of the organisers and donors for spearheading peace in the district for the advancement of development.
At the end of the workshop, the participants formulated their action plans to spearhead peace in their respective communities.
GNA