By Regina Benneh
Sunyani, May 13, GNA – Mr Emmanuel Kofi Agyeman, a former Dormaa East Municipal Chief Executive in the Bono Region, has urged the media to play a more active role in building and strengthening peaceful communities across the country.
He said peaceful cities were those in which young people had hope, communities were fast developing, and citizens envisioned a brighter future.
Mr Agyeman made the call when speaking at the Bono Regional celebration of the 2026 World Press Freedom Day in Sunyani.
The Bono Regional Chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) organised the event on the theme: “Shaping the Future at Peace: How the Youth and the Media are Building Peaceful Cities.”
Mr Agyeman, who is the Patron of the Chapter, noted that real peace went beyond the absence of violence, stressing that lasting peace depended largely on the creation of opportunities for young people.
“When young people are unemployed, disconnected, and frustrated, society becomes unstable.
“But when young people are economically engaged and involved in community development, they become protectors of peace rather than victims of hopelessness,” he added.
He emphasised the need to significantly empower the youth to enable them to contribute meaningfully to societal and accelerated national development.
Mr Agyeman also urged the nation to formalise its culture of communal labour, citing examples such as Kenya’s Green Belt Movement and Rwanda’s Umuganda initiative.
He noted that investments in the Nseseresu Canopy Walk in the Dormaa East District had created job opportunities for the local people.
Mr Agyeman further proposed the institution of an “Omanbapa Day” for nationwide clean-up and tree planting exercises.
He commended Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II, the Paramount Chief of the Dormaa Traditional Area, for championing communal development, improving sanitation, and promoting effective waste management in the area.
He said the leadership of the traditional ruler was worthy of emulation, adding that development began when citizens themselves became active participants.
Mr Agyeman also welcomed Ghana’s improvement in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, where the country rose to 39th out of 180 countries, from 60th in 2024 and 52nd in 2025.
“The media doesn’t only report but shapes society. When the media highlight innovation, entrepreneurship, local development and community leadership, they inspire action and give hope,” Mr Agyeman stated.
In a remark, Mr Joseph Addae Akwaboa, the Bono Regional Minister, urged the media to remain responsible and uphold professionalism in the discharge of their constitutional mandate while deepening press freedom.
He noted that press freedom carried equal responsibility and said although the 1992 Constitution guaranteed a free press, it must be matched with accuracy, integrity and a commitment to peacebuilding.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Regina Benneh Siaw
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