STAR Ghana Foundation wishes to inform its partners, stakeholders and the Ghanaian public that its office be closed from Monday 16th March 2020 as an emergency response to COVID-19 and the directive from the President of the Republic of Ghana. The team will, however, be working from home. We encourage virtual meetings, wherever possible. In view of that:
- We have activated our hotline numbers to enable for easy accessibility: 0263010964/0209418556. You can also reach us via Facebook and via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Travel restrictions have been placed on all staff. As a result, the proposed monitoring visits to partners have been put on hold until further notice. The M&E teams will speak to partners directly on next steps.
- The convenings on Political Parties’ Campaign Financing scheduled to take place on 18th March and 7th April in Takoradi and Accra respectively have also been put on hold until the ban is lifted by Government
- Partners who have planned activities are encouraged to re-evaluate their plans, avoiding big meetings, putting in place the necessary protocols for small meetings and where possible using virtual tools for meetings.
- Visit the Coronavirus Portal for news and other updates about COVID-19.
- Contact the emergency numbers of the Ghana Health Service for more information on COVID-19: 112/ 0552222004 /0552222005.
- Follow and adhere to all the recommended safety measures as specified by the Ministry of Health for containing the spread of the virus.
The status of the office closure will be re-evaluated and updated regularly.
Stay Safe
Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu
Executive Director
Related projects
STAR-Ghana Audio-Visual Competition: Social Inclusion for Sustainable Development (#SI4SD)
STAR-Ghana is organising an audio-visual competition for its GESI and Media Small Grant partners. This is to provide a platform through story telling using videos, audios and photography for its partners to showcase results achieved and innovations tested in the implementation of their projects.
The scope of the competition is for grant partners to produce photos, short videos and audios presenting a success story of their projects, focusing on the actual results (present and foreseen) of the project in question and with particular emphasis on the changes the project has contributed to in the lives of the beneficiaries (direct and indirect).
As a reference for the preparation of the video/audio, see Annex 2 guidelines for developing a most significant change or success story. Success stories do not mean that only positive elements should be presented, on the contrary it is important to also underline challenges and lessons learnt.
Focus areas
- Voice and participation in governance at all levels (traditional, decentralised and national levels);
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Addressing systemic barriers to opportunities and resources for economic activities, including land for specific GESI groups;
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Sustainable and inclusive access to quality and responsive public goods and services particularly health and education;
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Removal of systemic barriers to GESI groups’ ability to claim and enjoy rights conferred on them by the constitution and relevant international conventions and frameworks and national policies.
Categories
There are 3 main categories for the competition as follows:
- Videos
- Audios
- Photos
Videos
- A maximum of 3 entries may be submitted by a partner;
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Videos should be a short presentation (10 minutes or less of content, plus up to 30 seconds of acknowledgments) that captures the excitement, importance, and value of the project.
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Videos should be produced in a format that allows for its diffusion by social media and projection on a larger screen.
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Recommended format is MP4 however videos will be judged using criteria appropriate to the video format. Specific judging criteria are provided below.
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Since the videos will be publicly available through a YouTube channel, they must adhere to common practices of copyright and intellectual property rights.
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Additionally all videos are required to include closed captioning.
Judging Criteria
- Does the video adequately and clearly explain the issue of GESI?
- Does the video provide at least one reasonable solution to the issue?
- Are the facts and information presented accurate?
- Does the video present a clear message?
- How persuasive is the message?
- How well does the video draw in viewers and retain their attention?
- Does the presentation of images and sound lend itself to the overall message?
- Is the video original, and does it “think outside the box?”
- Is the video of good quality, with smooth transitions and balanced sound?
Audio
- A maximum of 2 entries may be submitted by a partner;
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Audios should be a short presentation - 5 minutes or less.
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Audio should be produced in a format that allows for its diffusion by social media
Judging Criteria
- Does the audio adequately and clearly explain the issue of GESI?
- Does the audio provide at least one reasonable solution to the issue?
- Are the facts and information presented accurate?
- Does the audio present a clear message?
- How persuasive is the message?
- How well does the audio draw in viewers and retain their attention?
- Does sound lend itself to the overall message?
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Is the sound of good quality, balanced with smooth transitions?
Photography
- A maximum of 5 photos may be submitted by a partner;
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Partners must be the sole author of the entries and hold all intellectual property rights to them;
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Partners must have received permission in writing from the subject(s) in the photos agreeing to the terms and conditions of the “SI4SD” audio-visual contest;
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Each photo should include the following information: Title, date shot, location, caption (maximum 100 words) explaining what the picture portrays.
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Entries will only be accepted in digital format and must not be digitally enhanced or manipulated in any way;
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Image files should be 10 megabytes or smaller, must be in PNG,JPEG or .jpg format, and must be at least 1,600 pixels wide (if a horizontal image) or 1,600 pixels tall (if a vertical image)
Judging Criteria
The photos will be evaluated based on:
- Relevance to the objective of the contest
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Photo composition/lighting
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Originality
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Caption
General Criteria
- To participate in the contest, you must be a STAR-Ghana GESI or Media Small Grants Partner.
- All entries submitted will be screened by STAR-Ghana staff to be sure that they adhere to the allotted time limit, address your project issue, and do not contain any offensive or copyright content. Entries that fail to follow these basic standards are subject to elimination.
- Entries that make it pass the initial screening will be judged by the following criteria. Each question is graded on a scale of 1-4 points, with 4 being the highest score:
General Selection Criteria
- Quality of the audio-visual submitted
- Effective presentation of the project and results
- Relation of the audio-visual to the theme of the competition: Social Inclusion for Sustainable Development #SI4SD
- Visibility of STAR-Ghana and funders
Process & Timelines
Winners:
Winners in all categories
- Winners of 1st – 3rd place entries will receive award certificates and recognition
- Winning entries will be posted on the STAR-Ghana and Christian Aid website as well as social media pages
Judges:
- Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo, Dean of Communications Studies, University of Ghana
- Teiko Sabah, Head of Programmes, STAR-Ghana
- Mabel Viviey, Communications and Learning Manager, STAR-Ghana
- Eunice Agbenyadzi, GESI and Capacity Building Manager, STAR-Ghana
- Frank Amoateng, Snr. M&E Manager, STAR-Ghana
- Resource person / DfID Rep
Submission and awards
Deadline: 28th July 2018
- All entries should be submitted to this link GESI Small Grant Audio Visual Competition
- Awards Ceremony: Winners announced of each category will be announced and prizes awarded
- For additional information you can contact: mviviey@star-ghana.org
Northern Development Forum presents Northern Ghana Development Policy Paper to the Peoples’ National Convention Party
The Northern Development Forum (NDF) has presented a policy paper to the Peoples’ National Convention Party (PNC) at a brief ceremony held at the conference room of the STAR Ghana Foundation in Accra on Wednesday 11th March 2020. The policy paper described as the `Transformation Agenda` is a culmination of priority initiatives of the people of Northern Ghana. The document is for the consideration of the PNC in its manifesto ahead of the December 2020 general elections in Ghana.
Speaking ahead of the presentation, Major (Rtd) Albert Don-Chebe, Chairman of the Northern Development Forum, expressed his hope that the PNC will factor the policy document in the development of their manifesto ahead of the December 2020 general elections in Ghana. He said:
“It is my pleasure to hand over to you, this Northern Ghana Development Policy Paper which we call the transformation Agenda for inclusion in your party’s manifesto. We pray that when victory smiles on you, you will implement the issues that we have raised in this document”
On his part, the Chairman of the Peoples’ National Convention Party, Bernard Mornah expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting and commended the NDF for the initiative and to STAR Ghana Foundation for supporting the NDF.
“Today’s meeting with the Northern Development Forum is an eye-opener to the Peoples’ National Convention Party and the team that I represent… we need to commend the Northern Development Forum and their collaborators (funders) STAR Ghana. In our case, it will make our work as a political party easy because we were now going into the field to gather data, but this is information that has been gathered and presented to us. So, we will look at it and factor in those that are not already in our manifesto…we are happy that when we got here, our expectation has been met by the content they (NDF) gave us”
The Northern Development Forum backed by the chiefs and people of the five northern regions, by the policy paper, seeking the endorsement of Political Parties in Ghana to include several strategic and game-changing initiatives from the northern part of the country in their Manifestos which will be beneficial to all Ghanaians. The Forum is scheduled to meet and present the policy document to all the other political parties in Ghana.
In 2018, the STAR Ghana Foundation in collaboration with TAMA Foundation Universal and ISODEC convened a high-level forum on Ghana beyond Aid in Bolgatanga. The aim of the event was to provide a platform for dialogue on the implication of the Ghana Beyond Aid Strategy especially as it pertains to the Northern Regions. These discussions were then expected to be submitted to the Osafo Marfo Committee to inform the final Ghana Beyond Aid Strategy document.
Following the successful implementation of a Northern Ghana Development Conference held in May 2019, and subsequent meetings between partners and Stakeholders of the Northern Development Agenda, the Northern Development Forum and its partners, with support from STAR Ghana Foundation, employed participatory and bottom-up approaches in building consensus on the prioritized initiatives that should be included in the Manifestos of the Political Parties for the 2020 General Elections.
Northern Development Forum presents Northern Ghana Development Policy Paper to the Peoples’ National Convention Party
The Northern Development Forum (NDF) has presented a policy paper to the Peoples’ National Convention Party (PNC) at a brief ceremony held at the conference room of the STAR Ghana Foundation in Accra on Wednesday 11th March 2020. The policy paper described as the `Transformation Agenda` is a culmination of priority initiatives of the people of Northern Ghana. The document is for the consideration of the PNC in its manifesto ahead of the December 2020 general elections in Ghana.
Speaking ahead of the presentation, Major (Rtd) Albert Don-Chebe, Chairman of the Northern Development Forum, expressed his hope that the PNC will factor the policy document in the development of their manifesto ahead of the December 2020 general elections in Ghana. He said:
“It is my pleasure to hand over to you, this Northern Ghana Development Policy Paper which we call the transformation Agenda for inclusion in your party’s manifesto. We pray that when victory smiles on you, you will implement the issues that we have raised in this document”
On his part, the Chairman of the Peoples’ National Convention Party, Bernard Mornah expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting and commended the NDF for the initiative and to STAR Ghana Foundation for supporting the NDF.
“Today’s meeting with the Northern Development Forum is an eye-opener to the Peoples’ National Convention Party and the team that I represent… we need to commend the Northern Development Forum and their collaborators (funders) STAR Ghana. In our case, it will make our work as a political party easy because we were now going into the field to gather data, but this is information that has been gathered and presented to us. So, we will look at it and factor in those that are not already in our manifesto…we are happy that when got here our expectation has been met by the content they (NDF) gave us”
The Northern Development Forum backed by the chiefs and people of the five northern regions, by the policy paper, are seeking the endorsement of the Political Parties in Ghana to include several strategic and game-changing initiatives from this part of the country in their Manifestos which will be beneficial to all Ghanaians. The Forum is scheduled to meet and present the policy document to all the other political parties in Ghana.
In 2018, the STAR Ghana Foundation in collaboration with TAMA Foundation Universal and ISODEC convened a high-level forum on Ghana beyond Aid in Bolgatanga. The aim of the event was to provide a platform for dialogue on the implication of the Ghana Beyond Aid Strategy especially as it pertains to the Northern Regions. These discussions were then expected to be submitted to the Osafo Marfo Committee to inform the final Ghana Beyond Aid Strategy document.
Following the successful implementation of the Northern Ghana Development Conference and subsequent meetings between partners and Stakeholders of the Northern Development Agenda, the Northern Development Forum and its partners, with support from STAR Ghana Foundation, employed participatory and bottom-up approaches in building consensus on the prioritized initiatives that should be included in the Manifestos of the Political Parties for the 2020 General Elections.