STAR-Ghana Grant Partners Discuss Strategies to Sustain National Development

Civil society encompasses voluntary organisations and NGOs whose programmes are aimed at preserving citizens' interests, as governments and businesses do not always address the aspirations of the people. In Ghana, STAR has been at the forefront of oiling the advocacy machine, and their efforts have resulted in significant strides. Their Grant Partners (GPs) recently convened at the plush Alisa Hotel, Accra, from 26th June to 28th June, under the theme "The Role of Civil Society in Sustaining National Development."

The conversations held were notably focused on the sustainability of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), post-2014, as the STAR-Ghana initiative reaches its five year mandate. Programme Manager Mr Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu spells out the focus of the convention:

On Day 1, discussions were centred on policy initiatives in the educational, health, energy and governance sectors. One thing that surprised me was the lack of emphasis on building local research capacity, particularly with regards to helping Ghana overcome her energy woes. Day 2 delved more into CSO sustainability and strategies that organisations can employ to remain effective and financially buoyant in the face of dwindling donor funding.

STAR-Ghana and Ghana Decides provided updates on Twitter under #STARGPC13 throughout the two-day conference. Pictures were also uploaded to STAR-Ghana's Facebook page. Find more tweets collected via Storify below. Enjoy and share your thoughts on what you think is the best approach to sustaining the gains made in social advocacy in Ghana.

Behind the Scenes of Ghana Decides- A BloGH Election 2012 Project

Ghana Decides was a year-long project by BloggingGhana aimed at fostering a well-informed electorate through online social media tools. The project is officially one year today, and here are video highlights of what went on "behind-the-scenes". The video was curated by project videographer Sharifah.

 

Ghana Election 2012: A Digital Walk-through

Tomorrow is election day in Ghana, my country. A lot has been going on on the Internet and social media this year with regards to campaigning and civic activism. The main goal is to whip up the enthusiasm of the youth for the elections and in matters of governance. Today's been very quiet, compared to previous days, when we were inundated incessantly with campaign messages. I've been through different towns- Accra, Ho, Keta, Aflao and Tema. Politics is heavy everywhere! A lot has been written about social media's relevance in the elections too.

Issues 

Kwesi Acquah put together the wordle below to capture some of the key things Ghanaians have been discussing leading to the elections:

Ghana Elections 2012 Wordle. Credit: Kwesi Acquah (@kwesiacquah)

I created this other one using content from ghanadecides.com at worditout.com:

Ghana Elections 2012 Wordle created using content from ghanadecides.com

Obviously, personality and party issues are intertwined with the real issues of the people.

Civic Activism

BloggingGhana, through its Ghana Decides project, has been at the helm of using the Internet and social media to engender more discussions and actions around the elections. Aljazeera recently hosted the team on its renowned social media show, Stream. Ghana Decides' latest campaign, Our Vote, Our Voice, seeks to get Ghanains to pledge to vote in December.

African Elections Project has also deployed new media tools to collect citizen reports, via Ushahidi, to ensure that the elections are credible. They're also providing social media training and coverage on election issues.

Google Student Ambassadors also recently run My Voice GH series to express their views on various issues that affect their day-to-day lives.

There are other groups doing some work in their own right.

Software Tools

It is always heartwarming to see the developer community invent tools that address the direct needs of the community. This syncs well with a personal mantra: "we must use the tools we have to solve the problems we face." Here are a few of them.

VoteKast Afrika: Collates results and Displays them in graphical format as they come in.

Ghana Vote Compass: An interesting tool that tries to predict your political leanings based on your inputs. This tool might be handy for those who haven't made up their minds yet.

The 2012 elections in Ghana will be closely fought. It is interesting to see the Internet and social media play a significant role in it for the first time.

Are there any campaigns or apps that you know pertaining to the elections? Please don't hesitate to share!

Ghana, Get Out the Vote! Our Vote is Our Voice in Election 2012

#GhanaDecides, #LetsVote, #OurVoteOurVoice

The 2012 general elections in Ghana is a week away, and the stakes are really high this time around. Candidates are tackling issues and policies in an unprecedented fashion, a sitting president joined the IEA presidential debates for the first time and social media is abuzz with election talk. It seems like the country can't wait for 7th December. Even though all indications point to the continuation of the traditional NDC-NPP duopoly, smaller parties like CPP and the newly-formed PPP are holding their own admirably- perhaps they will see a spike in their fortunes. It seems to many, though, that the PNC is on a downward trajectory.

The elections is not all about political parties and politicians. Ghana Decides, the foremost social media initiative around Elections 2012, recently launched Our Vote Our Voice, a campaign to get all Ghanaians to execute their civic duty in a peaceful manner.

"The purpose of the campaign is to promote communal voting... We believe peer-to-peer influence is still high and people could call up friends to vote or post updates to say #iVoted which may encourage others to vote.”

“Ghanaians must know that they have to vote because it is the in the interest of their children, their sisters and all of us. If you refuse to vote, it is like saying you don’t care about the people you love.”

Our Vote, Our Voice comes after many other  initiatives undertaken by this group of civic activists from BloggingGhana namely iRegistered, social media workshops, community engagements, Ghana Decides Tag, Speak Ghana, online discussions and event coverage.

Read the full press release on ghanadecides.com.

Online and offline forms have been created to to receive pledges from registered voters. Ghana Decides volunteers will follow-up pledges with emails and phone calls to encourage all those who pledged to go out and vote in the election. 

PLEDGE NOW TO VOTE IN THE 2012 ELECTIONS.

Join the conversation by following @ghanadecides on Twitter, liking the Ghana Decides Facebook page and subscribing to the YouTube Channel. #LetsVote!

Google Hangout Discussion on IEA Presidential Encounters

Yesterday, I took part in a Google plus hangout organised by Ghana Decides to discuss submissions from presidential candidates of various political parties in the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) presidential encounters series. I joined fellow Ghanaians from different locations throughout the world to discuss what we made of the submissions of the leaders of Convention People's Party (CPP), People's National Convention (PNC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) as Ghana prepares for elections in December. The hangout was broadcast live on the Ghana Decides YouTube Channel. You can follow the discussion for yourself through this video:

Various opinions were shared, but what was clear is that people expect the IEA encounters to have little impact on the outcome of the polls (due to a perceived language barrier as the discourses were undertaken in English and that most people already made up their minds on who to vote for). However, it was agreed that the platform created by IEA has become an important hallmark of our democracy. It's relevance lies in the fact that whoever wins power will be held accountable for the pronouncements made to the people captured live on televison, radio and on the Internet. Another thing that was clear was the seeming distrust of political authority and their willingness to really bring change to the country. 

All in all it was an interesting discussion and another example of the use of social media as a tool for civic engagement in our part of the world. I look forward to another opportunity in the future to talk, not only about politics, but also about other topics I'm interested in. What do you think about the points made during the discussion? What were your impressions about the IEA Evening Encounters? What do you think are the main issues that concern the youth as far as democracy in Ghana/Africa is concerned? It'd be good to know!

Celebrating the Late President Atta Mills of Ghana

News of President John Evans Atta Mills' death shocked many including myself. Atta Mills won political power "against the run of play" in 2009 and died a few months to completing his term of office. He will be remembered in Ghanaian history for his peaceful nature and his democratic and anti-corruption credentials.

In my first ever vlog (video blog), I reflect on the life of the late president, drawing our lessons that might be useful for all Ghanaians:

A book of condolence, in memory of President Mills, was opened yesterday at the Keta Municipal Assembly amidst great ceremony. Preceding the actual opening was a public procession from Busco Junction area all the way to the municipal assembly. All marchers were clad in some combination of red an/or black to signify their grief. A lively mix of brassband music and traditional sounds dared to reduce the "sorrowfulness" of the ocassion.

#RIPMills: Street procession in honour of the late Prsident Mills

In attendance were the Municipal Chief Executive, the Municipal Director of education, other public officers, chiefs and people of Keta. Tributes were read by representatives of various stakeholders such as the government and political parties. The speeches hailed the lifestyle and good works of the departed leader.  The book of condolence was then signed by MCE the leaders of various departments in the municipality the chiefs, reps of various political parties and some renowned citizens.

#RIPMills: An NPP rep at the function

#RIPMills: Municipal Dirctor of Education signing the book of condolence

 Find more pictures on the Ghana Decides Facebook page.

 

Similar ceremonies have been held in Accra, Ho, Cape Coast and all over Ghana, attracting heavy coverage in the mass media. Today, one minute of silence was observed all over the country at 2:15 pm, on the instruction of the government. For the first time, social media coverage has not been left out, with Ghana Decides taking lead role. There's a collection of great videos in the RIP President Mills YouTube playlist. Also, the #RIPMills hashtag has been the focal point of spreading the latest news on Twitter, while Facebook is awash with creative photos and posts, all celebrating the third president of the fourth republic.

President Mills' erstwhile Vice-President, John Dramani Mahama has since been sworn in as President of Ghana. We wish him well!

Press Release: Ghana Decides on the Death of President Mills

We are shocked and saddened by the death of His Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills. The announcement of his death was nothing less of a surprise and a blow to a nation that is continually trying to surmount immense developmental challenges. President Mills led Ghana on a path that he best judged as one that could propel the country he loved forward. He did his bit, but now he is gone.

 We have been overwhelmed with Ghana’s heartfelt response to the death of President Mills. The words fine academic, religious, hardworking and peace-loving are most often used to describe him. Some mention humility and we should not mistake that for timidity. President Mills brought the “GOOD MAN” syndrome to Ghana’s politics.

So on the event of his death; we are shaken, here at Ghana Decides. Ghana’s future is opened up again and we are thinking of the shape it will take. We cannot believe that the man we had various expectations about had eluded all of us and made it to “behind the seas where no one has seen.” That alone is heavy for us all and we are uncertain what next to do with regards to our plans for the sitting Government. President Mills has changed everything once again – and for the last time.

Consequently, the quick turnaround the nation has made, in terms of transition by swearing in Vice President John Dramani Mahama as President, is impeccable. We, at Ghana Decides, are not surprised as we have found in our interactions both online and offline with Ghanaians across the country, that people are committed to ensuring that peace and stability is maintained. Nonetheless, the peaceful and unified transition should be noted and celebrated. Ghana continues to hold the peace and uphold its constitution.

We therefore mourn the man we all loved, castigated, laughed with and wished well. If we ever forget how he lived, we would do well to play one audio clip from his addresses to Parliament and turn around with a “gargantuan” smile and say: There was the man who loved this country more than himself.

Biometric Voter Registration in Keta, Ghana: How I Registered

Ghana will be going to the polls this December to elect a new president and members of parliament. As part of preparations for the election the electoral commission (EC) is undertaking a fresh voter registration exercise using biometric technology. The adoption of a Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system has become crucial in order to minimise electoral fraud, and to ensure that whoever emerges victor is the true choice of the people.

What is biometric registration and how will it be done? I believe the video below explains the process quite well:

I registered on Easter Sunday at the Abidjan station polling station at Tegbi near Keta. Contrary to reports of a tedious registration process, characterised by long queues, from some parts of Ghana, my experience was pretty smooth. In fact, one woman who was almost done with penning down her name was the only other registrant at the centre when I got there. It took no more than ten minutes to get my brand new voters ID card.

Going through the Biometric Voter Registration exercise at Tegbi-Keta in the Volta Region

 The staff of the EC were professional and friendly. They took the trouble to answer all my curious and probing questions. From them, I got to know that I was the thirty-second person to register on that day. They're not facing any major technical glitches. Hopefully, as the Easter festivities have ended, more people would go to register in order to participate in the national elections.

Which card is better? The old one or the new one? #iRegistered

 So, I have my voters ID card, and the power to elect our next leaders, in my hands now. There are many issues to weigh before casting that vote, before determining the direction that Ghana should go in the next four years. The conversations have began. Ghana Decides, a BloggingGhana Election project seeks to promote these important conversations on social media channels. Starting with the iRegistered campaign,  their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + and Flickr pages reveal the amazing efforts being made to engage the youth ahead of this year's elections. Hopefully the often ignored voices of youth, women, physically-challenged and other socially-excluded groups will count during the elections through their efforts.  Refreshingly, the likes of Mashable, AJstream, GlobalVoices, Ghana News Agency and the government portal are following keenly what the youth of Ghana are trying to achieve using social media.

For now, I will keep a keen eye on events as they unfold and make my choices based on the real issues, the issues that I and others around me face. Just like every other Ghanaian would do. Go and register if you have not done so yet. Like the cliche goes, "your vote is your power!"