Accra,— A strategy framework that seeks to promote citizens activism while ensuring inclusiveness and sustainable development has been launched in Accra.
The “Active Citizenship Strategy” framework attempts to capture a broad view of the state of active citizenship in Ghana today, and the plethora of civic activities in the space.
It also aims to identify, assess and categorise the various manifestations of active citizenship and offer an opportunity for a holistic landscape to foster inclusion and collaboration among various actors.
Launched by the STAR Ghana Foundation under the theme: “Fostering Innovative Models of Active Citizenship for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Ghana,” the five-year strategic framework will further raise the interest of the citizenry in national discourse to boost active participation.
Presenting the strategy framework in Accra, on Tuesday, Mr Mawuli Dake, Lead Consultant for the Active Citizenship Strategy, said though there were many activisms going on in the country, most of them were uncoordinated, unled and unconnected.
He also noted that there was a general decline in the level of activism across the country.
Mr Dake said that could largely be attributed to, among other things, citizenry’s distrust in and failure of state institutions, hard economic conditions, toxic political climate and fear of victimisation.
The Strategic framework, Mr Dake said, would, therefore, prioritise five major areas to increase citizens’ interest in the development of their societies.
The priorities include funding resource, leadership development targeting youth leaders, strengthening of social movements, knowledge brokering and eco-system for social citizen movement, he added.
Mr Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, the Executive Director of STAR Ghana Foundation, said active citizenship was the heart of the Foundation’s work, adding that citizens participation in the development of their communities and at the national level was crucial to the nation’s development.
He said since the inception of the Foundation in 2018, its active citizenship work had been centred around awareness raising and testing models of local philanthropy that engendered and supported active citizenship.
“Based on the learning from these activities, the Foundation has developed a strategy to guide its active citizenship work from 2022 to 2027,” he added.
Mr Tanko said community and national development would not be achieved if citizens were not active in the processes.
He explained that the active citizenship strategy was, therefore, very necessary because it would help in the mobilisation of people to undertake community development activities.
“We cannot develop if citizens are not active in the development processes whether at the community level or national level, therefore, we all need to be active citizens and not just ordinary citizens.”
Dr Esther Ofei Aboagye, the Chairperson of the Governing Council of STAR Ghana Foundation, said the Foundation believed that Ghanaians had the capacity for active public engagement with processes that determined how they lived their lives.
“We also believe that people across the various divides, be it the gender, the age, the political, the religious, the physical and intellectual circumstances and even the socio-cultural, has demonstrated act of scrutiny which provides important lessons for us in our effort to cultivate this culture in our national life.”
She added that the Foundation’s strategic approach of convening, catalysing, coordinating and learning offered prospect for encouraging Ghanaians nationwide to participate in national discourse and contribute to making Ghana a better place.
Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, Co-Founder, Afrobarometer, said the constitution enjoined citizens to be civic-minded, adding that such tenets could not be undermined.
STAR Ghana Foundation is a national centre for active citizenship and philanthropy.
The Foundation works towards the development of a vibrant, well-informed and assertive civil society able to contribute to transformational national development and inclusive access to high quality, accountable public services for all Ghanaian citizens.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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