By Caesar Abagali
Olli, (U/W), Aug. 30, GNA – Ghanaian youth have been advised to shun people who engage in hate speech as the political campaigns towards the December 2024 general election heat up.
This, according to Dr Samuel Marfo, a member of the Upper West Regional Peace Council and a Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), was a duty of the youth to the nation in her quest to chalk yet another successful democratic milestone.
Prof. Marfo was speaking during an awareness creation programme amongst the youth on hate speech, misinformation and disinformation around elections, religious tolerance, and protracted conflicts at Olli community in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region.
The event, which brought together over 40 youths, including males and females from Kpila and Olli communities, was organized by the National Peace Council and sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the UN Peace Building Fund.
To help the youth identify hate speech, Prof. Marfo urged them to look out for negative tags, generalise individual negative deeds, and look down on or treat individuals or groups as inferior.
Citing examples of violence that claimed thousands of lives and destroyed properties across the globe, the Professor of Conflict Resolution condemned the violence and admonished the youth to resort to dialogue during every disagreement.
“You can be friends in the midst of diversity and if there’s any disagreement, you need to sit and dialogue but not resort to violence,” he said while stressing that the election was not about violence but rather a contestation of ideas with the goal to develop the nation.
“You cannot sow violence and expect to reap peace, likewise, you cannot be preaching peace and be preparing for war,” he emphasized.
The participants mentioned land disputes, poor road network; lack of school, electricity, telecommunication network, and clinic; and lack of a dam for water for their animals as some of the critical challenges confronting the two communities, which they desired to be addressed.
Mr Clifford Tampuori, the Upper West Regional Executive Secretary of the National Peace Council, said the objective of the engagement was to expose the youth to the concept of misinformation and disinformation as a trigger to conflicts; highlight the dangers of hate speech to social cohesion, and to harness the energies of the youth as ambassadors of peace.
project, which is being co-sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is being implemented by the National Peace Council across three regions including Upper West, Upper East, and North East Regions.
GNA