The Vice Chancellor of the University of Development Studies (UDS), Prof. Seidu Al-Hasaan, has said that no persons should be excluded in the quest to achieve sustainable development because of their vulnerability.
He said that the vulnerable such as persons with disabilities, the aged, women, and children among others, all form part of the society and so, it was important to mobilise all of them to be part of the development process.
“We must recognise that our own society, country, is vulnerable because it is exposed to so many risks such as economic crisis, global wars, internal wranglings and conflicts. We must develop very robust systems to withstand such shocks while ensuring that we don’t leave anyone behind because of their vulnerabilities,” he said during an engagement with some civil society organisations (CSOs) in Tamale in the northern region.
Speaking on the principles of active citizenship (AC) to achieve sustainable development, he said that AC required that citizens get involved in their communities and democracy at all levels.
Some participants in the launch
He cited awareness of vulnerabilities, good organisation and innovation as some of the tenets of AC for sustainable development.
“How best are we organizing ourselves as a country in ensuring law and order to ensure the resources that we have we manage them efficiently? Innovation is the only way that can put us on the path of sustainable development”.
“What I see in an active citizen is patriotism, nation building, protection of state property, discipline, obedience, honesty, reliability, and selflessness,” he outlined.
Tamale launch
The engagement formed part of activities to mark the 5th anniversary of STAR-Ghana Foundation, a national centre for promoting active citizenship and local philanthropy for sustainable development.
The Foundation was set up as part of efforts to find a space, and a mechanism that will enable a better coordination of development efforts, and to ask the fundamental questions about the state of affairs.
Again, it was to find a space that will help hold the hands of very young organisations and support them to grow to take their places.