By Gilbert Azeem Tiroog, GNA
Bolgatanga, May 13, GNA – The Rural Initiative of Self-Empowerment-Ghana (RISE-Ghana), a non-government organisation, has organised a stakeholder engagement to equip youth and women groups with evidence-based advocacy skills to promote inclusive governance.
The engagement was held under phase II of the “Heard Everywhere and Represented Daily (HEARD)” project, and funded by the Norsaac, gender-based advocacy organisation working to promote the equality of women in Ghana.
The engagement brought together community-based organisations, women groups and youth associations from the Bolgatanga Municipality and the Kassena Nankana West District.
The workshop aimed at strengthening the capacity of participants to develop practical and community-centred advocacy action plans capable of addressing governance barriers affecting women and young people in their communities.
The participants were taken through sessions on advocacy planning, proposal development and community engagement strategies to strengthen their ability to influence policy and advocate for inclusive governance in their respective communities.
Ms Bernice Atanga, Lead Project Officer of the HEARD project at RISE-Ghana, said the project was initiated to tackle the low representation of women and youth in governance institutions such as Parliament and local assemblies.
According to her, the first phase of the project, which began in 2024, focused on educating and empowering young people and women on governance systems, the National Youth Policy and the Affirmative Action Act to prepare them for leadership opportunities.
She explained that the current phase of the project was focused on helping six community groups from the two beneficiary districts to develop strong advocacy proposals that could attract support from development partners and stakeholders.
“We are looking at them presenting action plans that are convincing enough for our sponsors to invest in and support solutions to the barriers identified in the communities,” Ms Atanga noted.
She indicated that the engagement was also designed to help participants identify priority governance issues requiring state intervention, co-develop context-specific advocacy plans, design strategies for equitable representation and strengthen accountability and reporting systems within their organisations.
Mr John Kaguna, Project Officer at RISE-Ghana, said the workshop was intended to guide participants to refine their advocacy plans to make them more practical, community-led and solution-oriented.
He explained that after the presentations and review process, the refined action plans would be submitted to Norsaac for consideration and possible financial support.
“After today’s presentation, they are going to refine their various action plans and submit them to Norsaac. Norsaac will review the plans and based on that, provide financial support for implementation,” he stated.
Mr Kaguna said although the initial intention was to support all six groups involved in the project, funding limitations could affect the number of beneficiaries.
“In the event that all groups cannot be funded immediately, those with the most compelling and well-structured action plans will receive support first,” he said.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Gilbert Azeem Tiroog