The Upper East Regional chapter of the Peace Council, in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services, organized a capacity-building program for selected journalists and media practitioners in the Upper East Region. The focus was on sensitive conflict reporting, disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech to ensure a violence-free environment during the upcoming 2024 general elections.
This two-day program was part of the Preventing Violent Extremism through Social Accountability (POVETSA) II project, funded by the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Netherlands. Since 2022, the Upper East Regional Peace Council has been conducting such training sessions, currently entering the second phase of the project.
In her opening remarks, Adelaide Yiriyelleh, Project Manager for the POVETSA project, emphasized the significance of the training in enhancing journalists’ understanding of their responsibilities in promoting peace. She stated, “The main aim of the training was to build the capacity of journalists in conflict-sensitive reporting. The role of the media cannot be downplayed when it comes to promoting peace in Ghana, especially in terms of advocacy and ensuring peaceful elections.”
Ms. Yiriyelleh highlighted that the intensive training was timely, given the current political climate. She encouraged participants to focus on the core objectives of the training to effectively share this knowledge with their colleagues who could not attend.
Following the training, Alhaji Sumaila Issaka, Chairman of the Peace Council for the Upper East Region, spoke to the media in Bolgatanga. He noted, “The purpose of the training was to manage and prevent any occurrences considering the role of the media in the region. Whatever the media say could create a problem or create a peaceful atmosphere for the region. You are here to upgrade yourself on what it means to be a credible journalist and how to report with credible sources of information.”
He further remarked, “I think all of us here know that the reportage from journalists means a lot to the people, especially during this critical time of the country’s election. Looking at the tension that is going on, we think it is very necessary to bring you back to the table because we had this kind of encounter with you before. As the Peace Council, we want to manage and prevent any occurrences. Whatever you people say goes a long way and can create problems for us or make us feel very uncomfortable going through this election and coming out peacefully. I think this is one major reason why we have invited you to upgrade you on what it means to be a journalist and how to report properly”