The National Peace Council (NPC) has ramped up its efforts to ensure a peaceful 2024 general election by engaging key stakeholders across the country.
As part of these efforts, the NPC has trained political party executives on conflict management and alternative dispute resolution methods, covering 180 executives across six regions in the country.
This training, according to the Deputy Director in charge of Conflict at the NPC, Mr Frank Wilson, aims to reduce internal and external conflicts within the parties.
He made the revelation during Plan International Ghana's "Girl Takeover" event yesterday, which saw 14-year-old Sophia Kamasa, a pupil of the Ayomah M/A JHS in the Oti Region, symbolically step into the position of the NPC board chair.
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The event, which marked the International Day of the Girl Child, aimed to showcase how girls could play critical leadership roles in peacebuilding.
Mr Wilson further revealed that the NPC had also trained 450 media practitioners on curbing hate speech and misinformation, a key element to preventing violence before, during, and after the election.
He indicated that the NPC has also held meetings with the council of elders of various political parties to foster dialogue on critical issues ahead of the elections.
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"We are embarking on sensitisation campaigns across the country, especially in areas prone to ethnic and election-related disputes," Mr. Wilson stated.
The NPC, through its "Healing the Nation Initiative," he said plans to further engage constituencies with histories of tension to ensure peace on election day.
"A 15-member committee, comprised of representatives from civil society organisations and the Peace Council, has been established to monitor and prevent potential violence," he added.
When asked by Miss Kamasa how information about peacebuilding could be brought to the rural communities, Mr Wilson stated that as part of his outfits long-term peacebuilding strategy, the NPC was working closely with schools, with plans to establish peace clubs at both secondary and rural school levels, adding that "this initiative is geared towards educating the youth on the importance of peaceful coexistence and rejecting extremism."
Miss Kamasa expressed her admiration for the NPC's work and pledged to advocate for peace in her community. "I will use every opportunity to promote peace," she said.
A Gender Specialist at Plan International Ghana Ms Esenam Ahiadorme, commended the NPC's efforts and reiterated that the Girl Takeover initiative, which has seen over 1,000 events worldwide since 2016, continues to empower young girls to take up leadership roles and contribute meaningfully to societal issues.
