150 CIVIC EDUCATORS TRAINED TO UNDERTAKE PUBLIC EDUCATION ON PREVENTING VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN GHANA

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with funding support from the European Union (EU) has trained One Hundred and Fifty (150) Civic Educators to undertake public education on Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) in Ghana. In December 2022, the Commission with funding from the European Union launched an 18-month project titled “Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) in Eight Border Regions in Northern Ghana”. The training, therefore, seeks to equip the 150 Civic Educators with adequate and real-time information ahead of public awareness on the threat of violent extremism. The participants were mainly drawn from the eight (8) project target regions namely; the Upper East, Upper West, Savannah, North East, Northern, Bono, Bono East, and Oti Regions.

It must be stated that there is a National Framework for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (NAFPCVET), developed in 2019 to counter extremist attacks and terrorism threats. Under NAFPCVET, the NCCE is mandated to create awareness on violent extremism, carry out public education, and facilitate activities to instill in the citizens of Ghana, security consciousness and situational awareness. NCCE is again expected to engender social inclusiveness and community cohesion under the framework.

For the NCCE to deliberately engage the public from a well-informed position, the Commission has undertaken a Baseline study which was carried out in 59 districts in the eight (8) project regions. The study will inform and guide content development for public education on PCVE and serves as a benchmark for assessing the progress of project implementation. It will also inform strategies for the engagement of the public under the PCVE project.

Chairman of NCCE, Ms. Kathleen Addy at the opening of the training in Tamale, Northern Region, charged Civic Educators to move into every available space in the project implementing regions and ensure that citizens are well sensitised on the threat of violent extremism. She urged all citizens to support national efforts on preventing and containing violent extremism in Ghana by reporting suspicious characters and moves in communities. Ms. Addy thanked the European Union for its continuous support describing the EU as a dependable partner.

Deputy Chairman, Operations asked the participants to be committed to realising the objectives of the PCVE project. He asked the Civic Educators to be strategic in their engagements and target right for the necessary impact.