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Media Foundation for West Africa
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Sustainable Development
| Major group affiliation: |
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| Involvement in UN Partnerships: | Yes |
| If yes, explain in detail: | The MFWA has been working with UNDP Ghana to create awareness on the SDGs among media, civil society and the public. |
| Affiliation with other organizations: | The MFWA, in collaboration with SEND-Ghana and with funding support from the New Venture Fund, has been implementing a project called “National Conversation on the Post 2015 Development Agenda”. The project activities included research on national processes and priorities related to the post-2015 development agenda, support to media reporting on SDGs, contracting a national “SDGs Ambassador” to promote the post-2015 development agenda and organsing a national dialogue bringing together government agencies, media and civil society to discuss the post-2015 development agenda in Ghana. The MFWA serves on the National Technical Steering Committee created by the Government of Ghana. The Committee is a platform where institutions can make inputs and recommendations that reflect national priorities and conditions with respect to the SDGs. The discussions of the committee provided the basis for Ghana’s negotiations at the Open Working Group Sessions and the intergovernmental negotiations at the UN. The MFWA has been deeply involved in increasing the capacity of the media in reporting on the SDGs. In August, 2015, the MFWA held a media forum on SDGs to enhance journalist’s knowledge on the SDGs through direct interaction with the UN and the Government of Ghana. Furthermore, the MFWA has established a West African Network of Journalists for SDGs. The aim of the network is to contribute to more coordinated media efforts and to equip journalists with knowledge and skills to do quality development reporting. The MFWA is among a group of non-governmental organisations that are coordinating the implementation of a national platform for civil society organisations on the SDGs in Ghana. Other organisations collaborating on ensuring more coordinated civil society efforts in SDG processes in Ghana include Care-Ghana, NORSAAC, NETRIGHT and Christian Aid. |
| Publications: | Prioritising the Sustainable Devleopment Goals - Options for Ghana, May, 2015 |
Advancement of Women
| Affiliation with other organizations: | The MFWA has been implementing projects to enhance women's participation in decision-making and public discourse in collaboration with Foundation for Security and Development in Africa, with support form IBIS-Ghana. The organisation has also been working with the Web Foundation to advance women's rights online. |
| Publications: | Monitoring on Women's participation on air: WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN MEDIA DISCOURSE DECLINES FURTHER, June, 2014 WOMENS PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE REMAINS LOW, July, 2014 WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE IS NOT IMPROVING, August, 2014 MORE FEMALES REPRESENT POLITICAL PARTIES, September, 2014 Women's Participation and Involvement in Public Discourse in Ghana - Monitoring period June - November, 2014, February 2015; Baseline Study: Women’s Right Online Issues in Ghana, January 2018; State of Internet Freedom in Ghana 2020, November 2021; Advocacy paper – women’s rights online in Ghana, October 2021; Advocacy paper on Women’s rights online in Liberia, October 2021 |
| Involvement in Public Administration: | The MFWA has for several years been involved in improving local governance structures, by contributing to more participative, accountable and transparent processes, especially through media. Activities have included: 1) Capacity building of local media in local governance reporting to represent community needs, hold duty-bearers accountable, facilitate engagement platforms between community-members and government agencies, and make information on local governance issues accessible to citizens. 2) Building partnerships between government agencies, media and citizens for increased information flow (transparency) and engagements (accountability). 3) Establishment of direct engagement platforms, such as community forums and periodic “State of the District” radio broadcasts, where the District Chief Executive goes on air to update on the state of the district and new developments and to interact with community-members. 4) Support to local radio programming on local governance issues, especially revenue and expenditure, to increase awareness among community-members on these issues and improve flow of information. 5) Organising national forums to discuss challenges in decentralisation in Ghana and how to solve them. 6) Production of research material on local governance in Ghana |
| Publications: | An Assessment of the Current State of Citizens-Authorities’ Engagement on Revenue Inflow and Expenditure in the Three Northern Regions of Ghana, May, 2014 Policy Brief: Media and Local Governance in Ghana, July, 2014 Radio coverage of local governance issues in selected districts in Ghana, June, 2014; Guide Book on Ghana’s Right to Information Law (Act 989), December 2020; Deepening Access to Information for accountable governance in Ghana - the MFWA experience, September 2021; Limited Knowledge, Awareness derail effective implementation of RTI law in Ghana, September 2021 |
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