STAR-Ghana partners share results, lessons and opportunities

As part of our 3Cs and L (Convening, Catalyzing, Coordinating and Learning) role, STAR-Ghana in collaboration with its grant partners organized a partners’ learning event in a bit to harvest the significant achievements, emerging opportunities, key lessons and challenges (four 3s) and processes grant partners used in their project implementation. The GESI Call falls in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 which seeks to ensure gender equality, human rights, the rule of law and universal access to public services.

The Learning Event involved a total of 120 participants from the GESI, Media and Strategic Opportunities GPs, Steering Committee, PMT, Donor Representatives, State Actors, CSOs and the Media. The two-day learning event was on the theme: “Social Inclusion for Sustainable Development (SI4SD)”. It encompassed pre-event media activities (social media, radio and TV engagements), during activities (Facebook live, periscope live, twitter hashtags #SI4SD) and a post-event press conference to issue a communique to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural development, Parliamentary Committee on Gender and Children and other relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The Programme Director Amidu Ibrahim – Tanko speaking on the strategic implications for programming: the way forward said “grant partners need to look at the implications of the dynamics of the external environment (including the pending transition of STAR-Ghana) and position strategically to tap funding and sustain gains made. A small number of the small grant projects (about 7 organizations per a qualification criteria) will receive additional funding to showcase and replicate successes”

 Dr Esther Offei-Aboagye the Chairperson for the SC noted that “A better understanding of emerging areas of work such as the linkage between climate change and advocacy may be strategic in the evolving environment. CSO actors need to keep abreast and informed for effective engagement. It is important to take cognizance of the emerging, heterodox forms of citizens’ organizations and responses to them. This warrants new partnerships that enjoin professional organizations that organize differently and have different forms/sources of funding. Other dynamics to take note of is the shift of resources to academia and emergence of private sector and crowd funding sources”.

Participants at the learning event after having heard presentations among themselves and other stakeholders on their contributions towards promoting GESI released a communique with the following resolutions:

Provide technical support to each other’s work/project to build synergies around shared GESI goals;
Strengthen CSO and media capacity to mainstream and respond to GESI issues;
Foster linkages and strengthen coordination amongst GESI Partners, Stakeholders and Beneficiaries for ownership and sustainability of GESI initiatives;
Build upon strategic engagement and communication via multiple channels- use of social media platforms and traditional media (tv, radio, and newspapers);
Mobilize key stakeholders such as traditional and local government authorities for collective actions to address systemic barriers including certain socio-cultural norms against socially excluded groups;
Maintain and promote inclusion of beneficiaries in project design, implementation and feedback loop to help sustainability and ownership of results;
Sustain the use of participatory approaches and local languages to reach under-served communities;
Pursue proactive interventions that target stakeholders to impact GESI consciousness into curricula and other public education activities;

Click here for full version of the communique.