Youth Advocate Ghana (YAG), a youth-led non-governmental organisation, has organised a civic empowerment and capacity-building programme aimed at strengthening youth and women’s participation in democratic governance.
It was held under the Youth Advocacy and Participation for Electoral Transparency in Ghana (YAP-ETG) project and supported by WYDE.
The two-day workshop held at Nsawam brought together women and young people from the Ayensuano and Nsawam-Adoagyiri districts in the Eastern Region to build their capacity in electoral participation, advocacy, accountability and democratic engagement.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the workshop, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of Youth Advocate Ghana, Godfred Obeng Kwakye, said the organisation identified low youth representation in electoral and governance processes, largely due to inadequate capacity and limited opportunities for participation.
He explained that the programme was designed to equip participants with practical skills in election observation and advocacy to enable them to contribute meaningfully to governance at the local level.
“So we realised that there’s low representation and participation from the youth when it comes to issues pertaining to elections in our various districts, especially here in Nsawam and the Ayensuano community. We also realised that it is due to certain capacity gaps. Therefore, this workshop seeks to equip them with skills in election observation and advocacy needed to fully engage,” he said.
Commenting on government’s decision to introduce the election of MMDCEs, Youth Advocate Ghana described the proposed reform as a significant move toward deepening local democracy and creating opportunities for greater youth involvement in governance.
The organisation believes the reforms could strengthen accountability, improve grassroots governance and encourage more young people to actively engage in decision-making.
The endorsement follows Cabinet’s approval of decentralisation reforms intended to replace presidential appointments of MMDCEs with direct, non-partisan public elections. A new local governance law to operationalise the reforms is expected to be laid before Parliament by the end of 2026.
One of the facilitators, Dr. Nana Kwasi Boateng, Ayensuano District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), stressed the importance of sustained civic education to prepare young people to participate effectively in democratic processes.
He encouraged the youth to go beyond entertainment interests and actively engage in governance and decision-making.
Participants received training on democracy and democratic values, Ghana’s electoral processes and election observation principles during the first day of the programme.
The second day focused on youth advocacy and accountability, digital campaigns, technology-driven civic engagement and practical strategies for designing effective advocacy initiatives.
Participants commended Youth Advocate Ghana for the initiative, saying the programme had expanded their knowledge and strengthened their confidence to participate in democratic governance.
The project is being implemented by Youth Advocate Ghana in partnership with Democracy Reporting International and supported by the European Commission, EU Partnerships and the European Partnership for Democracy.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com
