Dissemination of Strategic Themes
The ACU has taken the lead in publicizing the recently-launched strategic themes for PDA for 2022 to 2027. Memorable infographics on each of the themes have been designed, along with a set of impactful quotes that represent the core ideals espoused by the team. Moreover, the eight strategic themes have been designed into a single PDF document that easily serves as transferable reference material.
Future of Work Dialogue Series
Recognizing the massive shifts in the world of work, PDA’s Future of Work Dialogue Series is intended to provide a common platform for stakeholders in the youth development ecosystem to deliberate on issues affecting young people’s employability. This is in line with PDA’s Strategic Theme 2 (youth empowerment to generate positive development in their communities).
The maiden event of the series was held on 24th February at Alisa Hotel (Accra). Themed “Digitalization in TVET: Challenges and Opportunities for Young People in Ghana”, the event was in partnership with World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and Global Shapers of the World Economic Forum, and was integrated into WUSC’s Innovation in Non-Traditional Vocational Education and Skills Training (INVEST) forum. The recording of the panel discussion is available here, as well as a summary report on the event. We look forward to inviting you to the next event in the series, tentatively slated for June 2022.
Dissemination Webinar: Voices and Evidence from End-Users of the GLTV and GLRRP
On 17th March, PDA in collaboration with EdTech Hub hosted a research dissemination webinar on how Ghana made use of education technology (EdTech) during the COVID-19, using the Ghana Learning Television (GLTV) and the Ghana Learning Radio and Reading Programme (GLRRP) as case studies. This feeds into PDA’s Strategic Theme 3 (promoting empowering and experiential forms of Learning).
The event served as an engaging platform for stakeholders of education in the country to assess and recommend ways to improve teaching and learning effectiveness in Ghana. The study is still available for download here, but you can also watch the recording of the webinar on YouTube and Facebook to follow the conversation. We anticipate inviting you to another research-themed webinar in May 2022.
WUSC GESI Training
Members of the Advocacy and Communications Unit of PDA participated in a 2-day training event organized by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). The workshop covered a series of modules to provide a broad overview of some of the critical steps for designing, planning, implementing and measuring Gender Equity/Women Economic Empowerment programs or programs that have these components. A key actionable lesson was on how to develop a gender policy for an organization or project, depending on the need. We look forward to more of such training, as it builds capacity for PDA to achieve Strategic Theme 8 (Financial Inclusion and Access to Finance by creating an enabling environment for communities and individuals including the youth, women and the vulnerable to develop a savings culture and facilitate access to microcredit).
Support for CLR, VSLA Teams
The ACU has played an important role in designing passbooks, stickers, fliers, and other teaching and learning materials for the successful training and support of the various VSLA and Child Labour Remediation Teams. Visual aids such as these help the core messages passed on through the training to make more impact on the audience. Again, this feeds into achieving PDA’s Strategic Theme 8 (Financial Inclusion and Access to Finance).
Child Abuse Tracker
As part of PDA’s objective to advocate for the protection of children in Ghana, according to Strategic Theme 4 (child rights and social protection), the organization developed an online platform that tracks cases of child abuse published in the newspapers and prominent online portals. The progress of these cases are also monitored in order to advocate for further intervention where necessary. Research shows that the reported cases constitute only a small fraction of the real abuses children face. Majority of the cases go unreported, and the victims live with the posttraumatic experiences that accompany such abuses. Sadly, even with the cases reported, justice still remains a distant possibility.
The PDA child abuse tracker continues to record cases of child abuse in Ghana. In 2021, the platform recorded over 80 child abuse cases reported in predominantly-online publications of selected media outlets. Reports of child abuse from Quarter 1 of 2022 are presented here, along with accompanying infographics which you can share with your networks.
Social Media and Website Updates
The ACU team has continued to engage audiences on social media while providing updates and reports of various activities on our website. Do follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to remain a part of our work.