SWIDA-Ghana and Partners Engage Stakeholders through the Media Ahead of Election 2024

SWIDA-Ghana as a member of the National Election Response Group (NERG), with its Executive Director a trained Observer for the 2024 General Elections, has been undertaking a  media engagements for National Election Security intervention in the Northern Region.

The partner organizations under the ‘NERG’ Consortium, consisting SWIDA-Ghana, CDD-Ghana, FOSDA, WANEP, and the National Peace Council carried out a series of media engagements to enhance the confidence of the key election stakeholders and the public in the election security system, as well as processes towards the 2024 election.

Other issues under the focus of the media engagements included the establishment of a women’s situation room this year, and safety issues for the excluded in society.

SWIDA-Ghana Organizes Conference on Ending SGBV

As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, SWIDA-Ghana in collaboration with Centre for Gender and Career Mentorship, has organized a conference aimed empowering female advocates on taking against Sexual and Gender-based Violence.

Held in collaboration with the UDS Center for Gender and Career Mentorship and TOLEC Ghana, the 2024 SGBV conference was under the theme “Empowering Female Advocates to End Sexual and Gender-Based Violence,” as it brought 120 advocates, students from junior and senior high schools, and community members to a location for a day of education and awareness.

A representative from TOLEC Ghana shared some insights on the psychological and emotional aspects of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.

The conference organized by SWIDA-Ghana and partners, was attended by Tiyumba Hope Foundation, GEM Ghana, Gloryhill Foundation, as well as representatives from the counseling units at UDS, Savana Signatures, and Admiral Nuts Limited.

SWIDA-Ghana Organizes Training for Key Stakeholders in Ghana’s Elections Ahead of December 7

SWIDA-Ghana, with funding from the Star Ghana Foundation and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office, has organized a training and dialogue session with the Electoral Management Body (EMB), community leaders, and the media to discuss the importance of inclusive electoral processes, as Ghana goes into the 2024 elections.

The session was aimed at promoting fair and transparent elections, ensuring that every citizen’s voice is heard, as it encouraged the public to get involved in the election process.

Representative of the Electoral Commission, Madam Fatima Kanton shared steps taken to ensure a fair election, including training for temporary poll workers on voter registration, counting votes, tabulation, and provisions of tactile jacket to aid persons with visual impairment vote independently.

A key part of the training and dialogues session was also focused on the need for inclusive electoral processes, the role of the Electoral Management Body in the electoral management processes.

The media were also reminded to verify information and figures purporting to come from polling stations and collation centers to ensure accurate reporting.

SWIDA Ghana Launches 16 Days Advocacy Campaign on Women’s and Girls’ Rights

SWIDA Ghana is embarking on a 16-day campaign to champion advocacy on the rights of women and girls.

The 16 Days of Activism will focus mainly on pushing for human rights for, and ending violence against women and girls, especially in the rural communities of northern Ghana.

A total of 5,000 women and girls are expected to be reached during the 16 days rigorous campaign, with various exercises and activities of advocacy.

The campaign will also engage 10 state departments and agencies, all aimed at strengthening the base of women and girls in the area of human rights.

SWIDA Ghana has over the years been bedrock of hope and empowerment for many especially rural women and girls, providing support for their capacities, and this campaign, according to the Executive Director, is expected to attempt to tighten the loose end, ensuring that those in charge of upholding the rights of women and girls stop at nothing to deliver.

Hajia Alima Sagito Saeed adds that as women and girls are at the center of the work SWIDA Ghana does, it will be a disservice to not end the year by pushing through advocacy, to ensure the rights of the vulnerable populations are guaranteed.

Under the theme “Towards Beijing +30; UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls”, the 16 Days of Activism by SWIDA Ghana as launched, will involve many stakeholders in implementation, as Plan Ghana has already extended its partnership support.

During the 16 Days ahead, cluster of days would be dedicated for specific set of tasks, activities, and exercises, aimed at arriving at the objective of reaching the women and girls’ targeted, as well as effectively engaging the 10 state agencies through which the advocacy will be pushed, towards ending violence against women and girls.

SWIDA Holds Workshop to Train Young Women in Entrepreneurship and Job Creation

The Patron of the Development of Hospitality, Tourism and Management (HTM) of the Tamale Technical University (TaTU), Mr. Stanley Cowther has encouraged young women to prioritize opportunity-based ventures to create jobs.

He said there were numerous opportunities in the country, as he encouraged young people to identify them to build sustainable enterprises to create more employment.

Mr. Cowther made these comments in a presentation at a two-day career and job fair mentorship workshop held in Tamale, to whip up young people’s interests in entrepreneurship, organized by the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA-Ghana).

Under the theme “Building Your Foundation for Women”, the workshop was organized in partnership with the HTM at TaTU, the northern regional directorate of the National Service Scheme, the northern regional directorate of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and Samakose.

At the workshop, there were sub-activities including the exhibition of products, panel discussions, speed mentoring, CV preparation training, as well as networking.

Some human resource professionals, successful entrepreneurs, and job recruiters were present to provide mentorship for graduate students and other young women entrepreneurs on career and business management skills.

Executive Director for SWIDA-Ghana, Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed said in her address, that the workshop was aimed at securing economic rights for women, which will ultimately contribute to addressing issues of gender-based violence in communities.

She said it was meant to dispel some misconceptions associated with women entrepreneurs and to equip them with the skills needed to operate businesses successfully.

She advised participants to take advantage of the training, to network and learn new skills and innovations to improve their careers and enterprises.

Chief Executive Officer of Balmaisha Foundation, Hajia Fayudatu Yakubu who coached the participants on CV preparation, advised the potential employees and entrepreneurs to develop compelling proposals and CVs to attract the attention of employers and investors.

She urged the youth to prioritize self-improvement, continuous professional development and networking, to enhance productivity.

Some participants who shared their impressions with SWIDA-Ghana after the training said it had provided them the opportunity to network with seasoned entrepreneurs to learn from their challenges and success stories.

The workshop was organized as part of the implementation of the “Advocacy Actions for Women Economic Security and Justice in Agricultural Activities in Northern Ghana” project, funded by the Africa Women’s Development Fund (AWDF).

Food Demonstration Training by SWIDA Ghana in Partnership with the Ghana Health Service

As part of Nutrition promotion and uptake, the Karaga team of SWIDA Ghana working with the Ghana Health Service organized food demonstration training in 22 communities.

The training targeted some 2,500 beneficiaries comprising breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, and adolescents, who were all covered during the training.

The training involved the use of local ingredients to prepare local food, ensuring it covers all the nutrients required in food for growth and vitality. Each community was made to gather ingredients locally, to be used for the training.

All the ingredients were gathered from the communities, from those the households use for their day to day cooking.

This effort by SWIDA Ghana and the Ghana Health Service in Karaga, is through the support of the World Food Programme, and aimed to encourage the members from the 22 communities to eat locally and healthily, to improve the nutrition levels across the Karaga District.

SWIDA Ghana Recognized for Outstanding Work

SWIDA Ghana has been awarded the outstanding achievement merit awards for Holistic Community Empowerment, at the first ever Northern Ghana Business Merit Awards, organized by the Executive Business Group.

The awards ceremony took place at the Modern City hotel in Tamale, where over 20 individuals and organizations were rewarded for efforts aimed at improving the lives of the vulnerable in communities.

The recognition also considered innovation in the work of NGOs, leading to problems solution and impact creation in rural communities.

Watch photos of the event below;

SWIDA Ghana Facilitates Town Hall to push Women’s Participation in Politics

Women are being encouraged to participate actively in politics to ensure the balance of leadership is achieved across all divides.

This call was echoed at the Town Hall Meeting put together by SWIDA Ghana, under the theme “Promoting Women’s Politcal Participation through Dialogue.”

Organized under the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), and funded by Canadian Fund for Local Initiative, the Town Hall in Tamale brought together over 130 participants including Traditional Authorities, Parliamentary Candidates, WROs, AWLN members, Assembly persons, Youth groups, students leaders, entrepreneurs, academia and state departments, to learn and share ideas on the importance of women’s participation in politics, the challenges, and solutions.

During her speech at the Town Hall meeting, Executive Director for SWIDA Ghana, facilitator of the event, and member of the AWLN, Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed emphasized the need for women to step up and seize the opportunity and not allow for it to be given, as if it were a privilege.

The Executive Director moderated the meeting, including the panel discussion, involving panelists including the independent PC for Tamale North, Hajia Fawziya Hudu, the NPP PC for Garu, Madam Georgia Lardi, Dr Dominic from the UDS, Hajia Alberta Avoka Wuntima, Youth Politician, and Madam Aisha Nimatu, the Regional President for PWDs.

The keynote speech was delivered by the northern regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, where he urged support for women in politics, as well as outlined the future plans the party his party has on the table for women.

There was also a research presentation at the meeting, which highlighted the reality today about women in politics and what the expectations are of the political system, for women to fit in and participate with less or no hindrances.

SWIDA-Ghana Holds First-Ever Females Leadership and Networking Conference in Tamale

The Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA – Ghana) has held a Female-empowering conference in Tamale, reflecting on young women becoming better versions of themselves.

The four-day conference which was under the theme “Growing into a Bigger and Better You”, aimed to achieve the following:

• Cultivate leadership skills among women

• Create a powerful network of female leaders

• Address challenges facing women in leadership roles

• Promote gender equality in decision-making processes

Young women from various educational institutions in the Northern Region were represented, with keen participation from especially female students who have been involved in various mentorship activities initiated by SWIDA-Ghana over the years.

Addressing the the participants in her welcome speech, the Executive Director for SWIDA-Ghana, Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed said “The aim of the National Female Leadership and Networking Conference is in seeing our young women doing better than ourselves in the coming years “.

The young women who participated in the conference expressed excitement and the zeal to work harder and to engage more in their own ways, to ensure they become better than they have always been.

Various speakers with different backgrounds of training and capacities took turns to address the participants on the need to focus on education and paying attention to materials that support to build their capacities, instead of those that thwart the efforts of stakeholders having interest in their growth and well-being.

Speakers at the event include Mrs. Janet Sunkwa-Mills who was the guest speaker, Bushira Alhassan; NR Director for the Department of Gender, Dr. Naazia Ibrahim; Senior Lecturer (UDS), Alhaji Ibrahim Taimako; Director for BCI, and Abdul Hayi Moomen; Director of Public Affairs (UDS).

Other speakers include Dr. Esther Amoako; Director of Gender, Leadership and Development, Fidelia Duadzie; Resource person on mobilization, partnership and networking, and Faiza Seidu-Adam; Digital Literacy for Women.

After the event which built the capacity of the female participants, certificates of participation were awarded the young women as recognition for their increased commitment to seeing themselves become better women.

Funders of SWIDA-Ghana’s Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) project, under which the National Females Leadership and Networking Conference was organized, expressed the commitment to nurturing the next generation of females to become better leaders than exist today.

State Institutions Called upon to Involve Young people in Activities of Climate and Development

The Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA-Ghana) in collaboration with state institutions have been urged to foster partnerships in implementing actions around SDGs 13 and 16 in communities, considering young people as integral to this drive.

Sustainable Development Goals 13 and 16 call for climate action, and peace, justice and strong institutions, respectively.

According to Executive Director for SWIDA-Ghana, Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed, strong institutions are needed to create the conducive environment for communities to develop, in which young people should be allowed to play a major role, since they are vibrant.

Hajia Alima was speaking at the SHS Climate Innovative Change grand finale, organised by SWIDA-Ghana in collaboration with AfriYouth and Empowerment Centre for Peacebuilding.

She encouraged young people and youth groups to take up issues on climate and development seriously, as that action will contribute to creating the enabling environment for their growth and that of generations yet to come.

The participating youth groups, individuals and state institutions at the program included the Forestry Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Youth Authority, Patrons of the SHSs Clubs and leaders of participating Youth Groups.

The SHS Climate Innovative Change activity is one of the activities by SWIDA-Ghana, under the Embassy of Denmark in Ghana and WANEP, funded by the SDG13/16 Project in Ghana.