The activities of the National Peace Council have started impacting positively on the community and its environs.
‘Since the Peace Council started engaging us with its peace activities, I can confidently tell you that we have already started seeing positive changes and I want to thank them for that effort and appeal to them to do more,’ Mr Abdul-Kayum Kogzie, Assembly member for the Fielmuo Electoral Area in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region said,
Mr Kogzie stated this during a youth awareness creation programme on hate speech, misinformation and disinformation around elections, religious tolerance, and protracted conflicts, held at Fielmuo.
He also lauded the engagement of the youth on hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation, which he agreed were a threat to peace especially in an election year.
Mr Kogzie suggested that the Peace Council form a youth peace ambassadors’ team and adequately build their capacities to continue to engage the people with the message of peace.
This, t
he Assembly man believed would further localize the campaign and bring the desired peaceful co-existence to the community and its environs.
Prof. Samuel Marfo, a Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), urged the youth to beware of hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation and the consequences.
He said hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation were more pronounced on social media and urged the youth to beware and rather endeavour to use the power of social media to promote peace.
He also encouraged them to be agents of change in society just like Dr Martin Luther King Jr. of America, Steve Biko of South Africa, and Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan.
He said every disagreement could be resolved through dialogue and advised the youth to always choose dialogue to settle their disputes whenever they occur.
‘We can change our own destiny because we have the power to do so’, he said and advised the youth to channel
their energies towards promoting peace in society.
Funded by the UN Peacebuilding fund through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the project is being implemented by the National Peace Council across three regions namely; Upper West, Upper East, and North East Regions.
Source: Ghana News Agency