Day one of a nationwide media engagement workshop hosted by Plan International Ghana has opened with renewed emphasis on the organisation’s long-term development agenda focused on young people, particularly girls and women.
The three-day workshop, which has brought together journalists from across Ghana, serves as a platform to deepen understanding of Plan International Ghana’s strategic programmes and their impact on communities nationwide.
Central to the discussions were key interventions aimed at promoting gender equality, youth leadership, inclusive education, and sustainable community development.
Among the flagship initiatives presented was the Renewed Women’s Voices and Leadership (RWVL) programme, designed to strengthen women’s rights organisations and amplify the voices of women and girls in decision-making spaces.
Project Manager Theodora Asare explained that the RWVL initiative, launched in November last year, is supported through funding from Global Affairs Canada in partnership with Plan International Canada.
She noted that the project seeks to build strong networks, encourage innovative financing approaches, and promote sustainable partnerships that empower women-led and youth-focused organisations across the country.
Under the programme, approximately 120 local, regional, and national Women’s Rights Organisations, youth-led groups, Women Human Rights Defenders, and advocacy networks are expected to benefit from capacity-building support, direct grants, and collaborative advocacy opportunities.
The funding model is structured into three distinct grant categories. The Multi-Year Core Funding, symbolically named “Aya,” represents resilience and perseverance and will provide between CAD 50,000 and CAD 80,000 to 30 selected organisations.
A second window, the Fast Responsive Funding, known as “Gomekadi,” offers smaller, rapid-response grants ranging from CAD 5,000 to CAD 15,000 for up to 100 organisations to address urgent or emerging needs.
The third category, Influencing Grants or “Epa,” focuses on policy and justice advocacy and will award CAD 50,000 each to eight organisations working to shape public discourse and legislative reforms.
The entire RWVL package is valued at 9.4 million Canadian dollars, with 4.5 million dollars allocated directly to grantee organisations.
Implementation began on March 7, 2025, and is scheduled to run until December 31, 203.
Another major initiative highlighted was the Youth Accelerator for Change (YAC), a three-year programme running from 2026 to 2028. The project builds on lessons from the She Leads programme and is supported by Plan International Netherlands.
Project Lead Joyce Obenewaa Darko indicated that YAC is designed to sustain and expand youth participation in national and global governance processes, ensuring young people’s perspectives influence policy development.
She explained that the Global Youth Ambassadors component of the programme enables young leaders to participate in international policy forums, including engagements linked to the United Nations system and global observances such as the International Day of the Girl and sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women.
According to her, these opportunities equip young advocates with the tools to engage in coordinated global advocacy efforts and amplify Ghanaian youth voices on international platforms.
The Southern Programme Impact and Influencing Area (SPIIA) was also discussed as a strategic framework expected to enhance social entrepreneurship and youth ambassador initiatives across multiple districts.
In the education sector, the organisation spotlighted the Ghana Education Outcomes Project (GEOP), a collaborative initiative involving the Government of Ghana, donors, investors, and education service providers, with Plan International Ghana serving as the primary local implementing partner.
The GEOP initiative is being rolled out in selected districts within Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi under the Lot 7A arrangement, targeting out-of-school children and supporting their reintegration into mainstream basic education.
Project Manager Kwaku Agyapong disclosed that the programme aims to reach 10,000 out-of-school children aged between 8 and 16 who have been absent from formal education for at least one year.
He explained that beneficiaries undergo a six to nine-month accelerated learning programme designed to prepare them for successful transition into formal primary schools, while also strengthening retention and academic performance.
Mr. Agyapong stressed that child protection and safeguarding principles are embedded in every stage of the intervention, ensuring safe and inclusive learning environments.
He added that deliberate efforts are made to prevent gender segregation in classroom seating, assembly formations, and extracurricular activities, while also addressing cultural norms that may perpetuate gender bias.
These inclusive strategies, he noted, have contributed to measurable improvements in enrolment and participation rates among both boys and girls in beneficiary schools.
Workshop participants also received updates from managers overseeing the Youth Engagement Alumni Network, the WACA Alumni coordination platform, and the Rooting for Change initiative, all of which continue to record progress in strengthening youth advocacy, community resilience, and grassroots mobilisation.
As the media workshop progresses into its subsequent sessions, organisers expressed optimism that enhanced collaboration with journalists will further amplify awareness of these transformative programmes and their impact across Ghana.
AMAGHANAONLINE