Youth speak up advocacy in the 21st century

YOUTH SPEAK UP! YOUTH-LED ADVOCACY IN THE 21st CENTURY

A DOCUMENTATION OF THE YOUTH SPEAK UP PROJECT’S METHODOLOGY AND IMPACT

PUBLISHED BY GHANA FRIENDS & YOUTH EMPOWERMENT FOR LIFE

First published November 2017

Contact information:

Permission to use this document partly or as a whole is hereby provided granted that due source of reference appears in all copies.

Ghana Friends Klosterport 4T, 3rd Floor 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

For permission to dublicate and distribute please contact Ghana Friends or Youth Empowerment for Life.

Text: Michael Mærsk-Møller Hansson Design: Lise Grauenkær Research and photos: Michael Mærsk-Møller Hansson, Lise Grauenkær, Clement Boateng, Abdul Rahaman Alhassan, Maccarthy MacGbathy, Emilie Stenberdt Nielsen.

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T: +45 61 41 71 52 E: gv@ghanavenskab.dk W: ghanavenskab.dk Youth Empowerment for Life Block B. House No: KR 56 Naa Luro Estates. Off Bolga Road.

Post Office Box TL2498 Tamale, Ghana T: +233 (0) 3720 27888 E: yefl@yefl.org W: yefl-ghana.com

RUMNET Tamale-Bolga Road, After Agric Traffic, Post Office Box 863 Tamale, Ghana T: +233 (0) 203657136 / +233 (0) 3720-24177 E: info@rumnetghana.org W: rumnetghana.org HOPIN Academy Gumbihini-Water Works Road, Tamale N. Tamale, Ghana.

T: +233 (0) 372028925 / +233 (0) 24-0466923 E: info@hopinacademy.org W: hopinacademy.org

CONTENT

CONTENT INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

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PART 1 – THE YOUTH SPEAK UP APPROACH

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PART 2 - MAKING AN IMPACT

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PART 3 – REPLICATING YOUTH SPEAK UP?

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The Youth Change Agents The Strategic Framework Youth Speak Up Activities on the Ground Empowered Youth Challenging Inequality Empowering Women Media Impact Sustainability

Replicability Step by Step Lessons Learned Challenges

Feeling Inspired?

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18 27 30 31 35 36 39 40

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ABBREVIATIONS

ABBREVIATIONS

CFSC CJ CSO E4L GV LC NGO PWD RUMNET YEfL YSU

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Communication for Social Change Community Journalist Civil Society Organisation Empowerment for Life Ghana Friends (Ghana Venskab) Listener Club Non-Governmental Organisation People with disabilities Rural Media Network Youth Empowerment for Life Youth Speak Up

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

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“The Youth Speak Up project has given us a voice, we the youth. We are now taking part in decision-making processes in our various communities.”

Since 2015 the Youth Speak Up project (YSU) has transformed lives of people in northern Ghana; both for the young people that have been directly targeted by the project, but also for people from the young people’s communities. By employing a combined approach of using radio broadcasting and social media, young people have gained recognition in their communities; they have raised awareness and encouraged debate; they have mobilised the masses; and they have put pressure on duty bearers to be accountable.

Most importantly, however, they have ensured tangible positive changes in their communities and have made significant efforts to improve lives in northern Ghana.

The YSU project is sponsored by Danmarks Indsamling and is a youth project which has been running in the Northern Region of Ghana from 2015 to 2017. It uses an innovative approach within the Communication for Social Change framework (CFSC). Twenty-four young people have been trained as Community Journalists (CJs) in four districts in the Northern Region of Ghana.

They have been trained in using radio and social media to raise awareness of important development issues and hold duty bearers accountable. Working together with Listener Clubs (LCs) in their communities, they have identified and analysed development

Listener Club member, Savelugu District issues and brought attention to these issues through various media channels; and immediate positive results have often come from their work. All of this has happened because of an integrative partnership developed between the organisations Rural Media Network (RUMNET), HOPIN Academy, Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL), and Ghana Friends (GV). The approach is the first of its kind in Ghana combining radio and social media to bring about social change.

With this best practice publication, we wish to share our experiences so that other organisations and stakeholders can learn and find inspiration for their future work. We firmly believe that the YSU approach has the potential of innovating the ways organisations work to ensure good governance. The YSU approach is an innovation and a new way of finding solutions to issues of awareness raising and doing advocacy. It is taking advocacy into the 21st century. Thus, in this publication we will share our reflections and learning about the approach, our results, and how others might use the lessons we have learnt to replicate parts of the model, or the model in its entirety.

We hope that this publication will provide a source of inspiration.

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ABBREVIATIONS

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CONTEXT

CONTEXT

During recent years Ghana has been seen as a positive story in terms of political and economic development in Africa, and the country is by many considered one of the most stable democracies in Africa.

Ghana has experienced positive economic development for many years now, and from 2000 to 2017 the GDP per capita grew from 263 USD to 1,513 USD. Hence, Ghana reached the status of a lower middle-income country in 2010.

However, imbalances and developmental divides persist which risk undermining a certain level of progress, as it does not extend to all citizens and regions of Ghana evenly. Half of the population in the Northern Region was recorded as poor in 2013, whereas the figure was only 5.6 percent in the Greater Accra Region in the south. The Northern Region holds the largest number of poor people in all of Ghana and is the region with the smallest improvement in poverty levels since 1992.

Young people aged 15-34 years make up almost 35 % of Ghana’s population, and the young people in northern Ghana are particularly affected by issues of social injustice and inequality. Funding for education in the Northern Region of Ghana is much lower than in other parts of the country which results in inadequate educational infrastructure and lack of qualified teachers.

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Also, with the Northern Region being primarily a rural setting, the young people have limited access to employment in the formal sector and have to seek job opportunities in the informal sector or pursue self-employment.

Lastly, the young people tend to be poorly represented at all levels of decision-making structures in their communities and beyond.

Positions of power in Ghana, and in northern Ghana in particular, are culturally related to high age, which implies respect for elders but also tends to leave young people marginalised and without the courage and self-esteem to air their views in the presence of elderly people.

However, these issues are increasingly getting attention from political sides and an increasing amount of youth organisations in the Northern Region are starting to position youth as drivers for social change.

One area in which the youth is particularly leading change is in terms of media consumption. In recent years the access to internet and mobile phones has expanded rapidly. According to Internet World Stats (2017), close to 10 million people out of Ghana’s population of 28 million are using the internet in Ghana today – an amount that has almost doubled from the 5.2 million users in 2015. Especially social media

Young people aged 15-34 years make up almost 35 % of Ghana’s population.”

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CONTEXT

platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp are becoming popular, but many young people from deprived areas still have limited access to these platforms.

Among the young people participating in this project, only one person was familiar with Twitter and only 40 % were familiar with Facebook before the project started.

As we will show with this publication, the combination of internet-based media and radio has a great potential in addressing issues of injustice as well as improving the conditions for marginalised young people and their society.

The main source of information and news in the Northern Region of Ghana is through radio, which reaches more than 80% of the population while only about 15% of the population are reading newspapers. Radio is powerful to raise awareness and is used as a tool in development interventions within health, agriculture, education, and not least civic education.

AFRICA GHANA NORTHERN REGION PROJECT DISTRICTS REGIONAL CAPITAL

KARAGA

KUMBUNGU

SAVELUGU

TAMALE

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The Youth Speak Up prject area in Northern Region, Ghana

SABOBA

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“The project is actually superb. Since I came to the district there has not been a similar project where the youth are engaged and actually come out with their potentials to develop their districts.

Before the project, there were a lot of things that were not in order: light poles, problems of water, problems of sanitation, but we were able to draw attention to these problems, and people saw that we were actually doing a wonderful work. The programme has given a great opportunity to actually showcase the problems that would not have been drawn attention to, so the relevant stakeholders would come out, mitigate, and actually solve the problems.”

Nsila David, Lister Club member

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THE APPROACH

YOUTH SPEAK UP APPROACH

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“At first I thought social media was just for fun, but now I have seen that the use goes beyond that”

The main innovation of the YSU approach is how radio and social media are used to strategically complement and reinforce each another. These media platforms are used as tools to ensure the main goal of the project, which is to develop the competences of youth reporters to support active citizenship and engagement of young people in their communities to address injustices.

In the YSU project, radio programmes are broadcasted in four districts of northern Ghana on a weekly basis, and a regional programme is broadcasted once every month. The young people use these radio programmes to bring attention to important development issues, either through raising awareness or engaging duty bearers to advocate for change. The young people then use smartphones to reinforce their work from the radio. The smartphones are valuable for means of research, for documenting development issues, and for sharing news stories through other media channels than just radio. By using social media platforms, the reach of the young activists’ work becomes even wider, gains more attention, and encourages listeners to take part in the debate.

The YSU project targets four districts in the Northern Region of Ghana that are all officially categorised as deprived, namely Kumbungu, Savelugu, Saboba, and Karaga.

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Community journalist, Kumbungu District In each of these districts the project partners with a local youth organisation in which the participants are anchored to ensure that there is local ownership and structures that can support the continuation of the projects activities. In the YSU project, these youth organisations have been instrumental in mobilising young people and providing a foundation for their work and the direct participants are seected from these organisations.

Partnerships are established with four local community radio stations and one regional radio station.

TARGET GROUPS The primary target group of the YSU project is a group of approx. 150 young people consisting of 25 Community Journalists and 25 Listener Clubs with 4-5 members in each.

These young people are strategically trained in areas such as civic education, citizen journalism, social media, and resource mobilisation, among others.

The secondary target group is the youth centres in the four districts, representing approx. 15 youth groups and an average of 170 young people per centre who are exposed to the work of the participants and receive tutoring in the use of social media.

Furthermpore, their communities and the general public are targeted through the media interventions.

DUTY BEARERS

YOUTH

PUBLIC

SOCIAL MEDIA

RADIO

COMMUNITY JOURNALISTS

LISTENER CLUBS

LOCAL YOUTH ORGANISATION

ISSUES ARE DERIVED FROM THE YOUTH’S COMMUNITIES AND ADRESSED BY THE YOUTH ORGANISATIONS

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THE APPROACH

THE YOUTH CHANGE AGENTS THE COMMUNITY JOURNALISTS

The community journalists are the main participants and the front figures of the project. They are the agents with the main responsibility to bring attention to the issues in their communities and engage relevant duty bearers through radio and social media.

The community journalists receive training in citizen journalism and are responsible for gathering information about the injustices in their communities. In order to bring attention to the issues in their communities, they also receive training in radio broadcasting and use of social media for advocacy purposes.

YOUTH RADIO FOR AND BY YOUTH Once every week, the community journalists lead a radio session of one hour in the local radio stations where they bring attention to the issues they have identified as most pressing for the development of their communities. The radio programmes are usually conducted in the local languages, and they invite relevant stakeholders to join the programme and discuss the development issues. With this weekly activity the community journalists give their communities a voice on the radio, which they would otherwise not have had. They are also trained to amplify their messages from the radio through the use of social media to give their stories a wider reach and put more pressure on local duty bearers.

The community journalists participate in all trainings and are equipped with smartphones, recorders, notepads, bicycles, and ID cards, and are given small allowances to buy credit for the phones.

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LISTENER CLUBS

The Listener Clubs (LCs) are created from the already existing youth organisations to be the activist base through which the Community journalists get support to conduct their activities.

The members of the listener clubs listen to and discuss the radio programmes and contribute by making call-ins, text messages, or using WhatsApp during the radio programme to support the community journalists, contribute to the discussions, and bring attention to additional areas that need to be covered. They are trained in conducting dialogue sessions to identify issues and solutions, and on how to develop action plans to address the issues raised on radio.

Furthermore, they are trained in using established social media platforms to amplify the messages and issues that are brought up by the community journalists during the radio sessions. As local youth activists they took part in creating awareness on the issues in the communities, and they help the community journalists in doing research and gather information about injustices in their communities. In some cases they have even stepped in as replacements for Community journalists when a CJ left the project or when they had a particular expertise in a certain area.

The LC members are the community ambassadors and the community voice.

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“Being part of the project, I have learned a lot as an individual. Before, it was difficult for me to stand in front of a crowd to say something meaningful.

Now I have gotten to know so many things. I now have the courage to go on air, to take big decisions and even to go to many district offices where they would not allow me before. Now I can go anywhere and seek any information. Also, I have even become more popular in my community – sometimes people recognise me in the street and joke that I should mention their names on air.”

Taden Faustina, CJ

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THE APPROACH

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

The overall strategy of the project builds on participatory development communication which Guy Bessette (2004) defines as ”a planned activity, based on the one hand on participatory processes, and on the other hand on media and interpersonal communication, which facilitates a dialogue among different stakeholders, around a common development problem or goal.”

strengthen citizens’ critical faculties and ability to communicate, both of which enable them to use media and communication as tools and as a way to articulate processes of development and social change. In short, media and information literacy empowers people to influence and improve their lives – while promoting a well-oriented, democratic and sustainable society.

Specifically, the project takes inspiration from the communication for social change approach (CFSC). It is is a bottom-up approach where vulnerable groups through a process of “private and public dialogue” become aware of their own situation in society, e.g. gain a sense of citizenship, rights, etc., and are able to identify issues and problems that need to be changed in order to improve their lives and use different media to initiate social change.

The CFSC approach is thus not simply about using communication technology for development purposes. It is an approach which emphasises community participation and local ownership. The aim of the YSU project is to build the capacity of a group of young people to take ownership of their own development and act on their own. They are responsible of identifying development issues, research, planning and executing radio programmes, the day-to-day contact with duty bearers, radio stations, community members, and other stakeholders, etc.

In CFSC, social change is defined as “a positive change in people’s lives – as they themselves define such change” (Parks et al, 2005:3).

Thus, in this approach it is recognised that media is a very powerful tool, which must be taken into account whether we are addressing the political, economic, or cultural sphere. Not least community media and social media represent social and cultural resources that can empower people, both in their personal development and their development as members of society.

An important prerequisite for empowerment of citizens is a concerted effort to improve media and information literacy skills that

OVERALL ACTIVITIES This bottom up-approach strongly influences the activities in the YSU project, where the participants define what issues they want to address and how they will do it. The project’s role is mainly to provide them with the appropriate capacity and supporting structures for operating.

The activities can be designed to fit the target groups and the specific contextual setting. Youth Speak Up operated with four main categories of activities, which are illustrated in the figure at pages 16 - 17.

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YOUTH SPEAK UP ACTIVITIES

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MOBILISATION & SETUP

CIVIC EDUCATION, ADVOCACY & DIALOGUE

SENSITISATION & INTRODUCTION OF PROJECT

CIVIC EDUCATION & MOBILISING OTHERS

PARTNER W ITH YOUTH ORGANISATIONS & SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS

ACTION PLANNING & ADVOCACY

ON THE GROUND

THE APPROACH

RADIO & SOCIAL MEDIA + INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

SUSTAINABILITY

CITIZEN JOURNALISM & RADIO PRODUCTION

RESOURCE MOBILISATION

SOCIAL MEDIA AS TOOL FOR ADVOCACY

SHARE KNOWLEDGE & BUILD PARTNERSHIPS

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THE IMPACT

EMPOWERED YOUTH - CHALLENGING INEQULITY

The objective of the YSU project has from the start been to make an impact both for the young people on a personal level and for young people in northern Ghana in general.

The project has, however, gone beyond the scope of the youth. It has ensured tangible improvements in the lives of the general population in the young people’s communities as well.

During the two years of implementation, more than 240 radio programmes have been aired followed by a strong social media presence by the young people. The CJs and LC members have helped ensure everything from tangible amenities such as roads, clean water, and electricity, to the release of district funds to people with disabilities, among many other things.

Four main impact areas 1.

Improved social status of the youth among stakeholders

2.

Influencing public discourse and raising awareness

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Mobilising people to take action

Holding duty bearers accountable and securing increased transparency

4.

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THE IMPACT

1.YOUTH’S IMPROVED STATUS

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“Now I have become a stakeholder myself”

IMPROVED INDIVIDUAL SKILLS

One of the biggest results of the YSU project has been on the personal level of the CJs and LC members who have gained much more recognition and social capital in their communities, in youth groups, and among important duty bearers. Today, they have become stakeholders in their districts and communities because people have witnessed the positive changes they have participated in bringing about.

For most of the young people, they could not boast of this recognition before. As one of the CJs from Savelugu District expressed in the end-line survey, “At first, I was nobody in the community but now I am highly popular and respected for the work I am doing.”

The young people mention several different areas of improvement that they have experienced on a personal scale. Not only have they become more recognised in their communities, but they have also gained more confidence in addressing issues in the public sphere. Many young people mentioned how they had felt shy of speaking in public before but how they have gotten much more confidence to stand in front of big crowds and speak their minds and participate in public debates. Not only were they forced to do this by going on radio once a week, but they also organised

Community Journalist, Karaga District

several community meetings and durbars to address issues in their communities. This also implies that many of them have become more confident in taking leadership in their communities. They draw attention to issues and address duty bearers, but they also organise events to mobilise people in e.g. demonstrations or for community labour.

Many of the young people also mentioned how they had improved their communication skills. This is not only in terms of how to communicate through social media, radio, or news reporting, but also in terms of addressing people in their communities and duty bearers in constructive ways.

They have developed an understanding of when and in which spheres they have to be confrontational, accommodating, collaborative, and friendly.

Improved recognition in the districts – and beyond

The improved recognition that the CJs and LC members enjoy is apparent on a community and district level. Today, many community members contact them if they need to bring attention to development issues, and many of the young participants testify to the popularity they have experienced in their communities due to their work in this project.

The recognition has also reached the duty bearers in the communities and districts, who have become much more accommodating to the young people. As

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THE IMPACT

22 The Karaga community journalists

THE IMPACT

a female LC member from Saboba District describes it: “Previously when we went to the District Assembly, the way they used to speak to us was not friendly at all. But because of this project, right now if we have anything to discuss with them, we just go there. We don’t have any problems anymore; the relationship is very cordial.”

Before this project started, duty bearers could decide not to react to the young people’s requests without much fear of consequences. Now they have a bigger incentive to work together with the youth who can bring attention to potential inaction and misconduct on either radio or social media. The duty bearers are thus forced to take the young people seriously. Many duty bearers have used this as an opportunity to show their support to the project and capitalise from it by cooperating with the youth. Through the radio, the duty bearers can get a platform to give information to their communities, raise awareness on important development issues, and educate their communities. In fact, many duty bearers have seen the YSU project as a support rather than an obstacle.

The improved recognition can also be witnessed in very tangible ways. Many CJs and LC members are now invited for meetings in the District Assemblies, several of them have direct contact with the highest political position on district level – and some have taken positions in District committees.

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The recognition goes beyond the scope of the district as well. During the 2016 national elections in Ghana, one of the major Ghanaian television stations, TV3 Network, selected seven CJs and trained them to become part of their coverage of the elections. The CJs became part of a WhatsApp group with 20 professional media houses where they shared information, news reports, and experiences of life in the districts and fed in with stories related to national development. Several articles have been written based on information that was originally procured by the CJs, and have gone nation-wide.

Lastly, the CJs and LC members have become role models in their communities for the youth and marginalised groups. Several of the young female CJs and LC members regularly visit schools to advocate for the importance of keeping young girls in school, and one of the CJs in Kumbungu, who is physically disabled, has featured on regional TV to show how one can still make a life for oneself despite living with a disability.

In general, the CJs and LC members have proven that young people can partake in issues of development and take decisionmaking positions. They have shown how to bridge the age gap that exists between young and old in Ghanaian politics and social life.

“I was quite an introvert before the project started, but now I can stand in front of a crowd and say whatever I have to say” Listener Club member, Saboba

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THE IMPACT

2. INFLUENCING PUBLIC DISCOURSE AND CREATING AWARENESS Through the weekly radio programmes, the CJs are given a platform that reaches a wide range of people in the districts of the Northern Region of Ghana. The radio is a prime platform to give attention to development issues that require a change of behaviour and attitude in the population.

Hence, through the YSU project, the young beneficiaries have become stakeholders in terms of raising awareness and influencing public discourse.

The Northern Region of Ghana faces many issues that cannot solely be solved through political interventions but also require a degree of behavioural change, which has to be ensured through raising awareness.

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During the two years of implementation, the CJs have brought attention to a broad range of attitudinal and behavioural issues. These are not areas where it is easy to change people’s behaviours or attitudes, especially in cases where certain cultural traditions are so ingrained that questioning them may lead to opposition. Assessing the impact of these kinds of engagements can be equally difficult, but we will draw attention to two areas where the CJs have tried to raise awareness and influence public discourse and have succeeded to some extent, namely the areas of protection of girls’ rights and peace building.

PROTECTION OF GIRLS RIGHTS

In the Northern Region of Ghana, girls are generally less likely than boys to attend school as they reach their teenage years. The problem of girls’ access to education is closely linked with issues of forced early marriages and teenage pregnancies. Many girls leave school as they are married away to older men despite being younger than 18 years, and girls tend to leave school if they become pregnant. All these factors and their negative impact on the girls’ lives and society in general were brought up by CJs and LC members in all the districts. Particularly in Karaga District, these topics raised massive public debate to the extent that the CJs had to discuss the topics several times on radio.

By raising awareness of the issue of teenage pregnancies, the CJs also influenced the decision made by Karaga District’s traditional leaders to set up by-laws to protect young girls in areas of forced early marriages and teenage pregnancies. Similarly, because she had raised awareness of the issue of forced early marriages on air, a female CJ in Savelugu District was called by community members to document a case of forced early marriage in her community. Using social media she was able to draw attention to the issue and put a stop to the marriage.

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THE IMPACT

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PEACE DURING 2016 NATIONAL ELECTIONS

The CJs used radio to draw attention to the importance of building peace during the 2016 national elections. While Ghana is often mentioned as a good example of democratic rule in Africa, conflicts during election periods have been quite common.

Lines are drawn up between the competing parties, and their attitudes towards each other sometimes become very hostile. Young people are recruited and paid to support parties during election periods and promote them in sometimes confrontational ways. It was thus a high priority for the CJs and LC members to advocate for peace during the 2016 national elections.

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In all four districts the CJs used radio to educate and advocate for peace. The CJs discussed the reasons why these conflicts occurred and how to reduce them. They also involved parliamentary candidates and made them pledge for peace. They did this through radio and by organising public events where people could meet the parliamentary candidates. Rather than giving the candidates a space to confront and insult each other, the CJs and LC members facilitated a space where the candidates could present their their solutions to the challenges young people and constituents face. Throughout this campaign, the CJs emphasised the need to discuss issues related to development rather than political issues. By focusing on peace and facilitating a democratic debate, the CJs and LC members took part in ensuring an election with fewer confrontations and in mobilising the parliamentary candidates to emphasise the importance of a peaceful election.

Parliamentary candidates pledging for peace in Wapuli, Saboba District.

THE IMPACT

3. MOBILISING PEOPLE

One of the great strengths of using radio and social media is for mobilising the masses. By mobilising people, the young beneficiaries have been able to create movements to back up and strengthen their advocacy efforts.

The CJs and LC members thus generate public support, and at times they can use their mobilisation skills for fundraising purposes as well.

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In the following we will draw attention to some of the cases where the young beneficiaries have successfully and peacefully mobilised the masses.

The examples show that by using radio and social media, there is a great potential for mobilising people to drive processes for change, but they also show how the project successfully has been able to hold duty bearers accountable.

LIBRARY IN TONG COMMUNITY

As is the case for many communities in the Northern Region of Ghana, the schools in the small farming community of Tong, Karaga District, have been underperforming in the national education scores which are used to grade students in Ghana. The local CJ from the Tong community drew attention to this issue on a radio programme, and one of the solutions to the problem, which the young people had identified, was to build a library. After the radio programme, the CJ successfully approached an NGO in the area for support, but he was also able to mobilise the support of the community.

120 community members went together and each contributed with an amount of approx. $2.5 to help get the resources to fund the library. The community members also mobilised to work on building the library, and after a year’s work, Tong Library was ready for inauguration in March 2017. The CJ from Tong was able to mobilise his community not only to contribute with funds but also with labour to address the issue of underperforming students in the community.

The library is the only of its kind in Karaga District and is used by local school children, local women, and NGOs.

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NO ROAD - NO VOTE

The perhaps most striking example of a successful engagement to mobilise people in the YSU project was when CJs and LC members mobilised people from a wide range of communities in Kumbungu District to protest against the bad nature of roads in their district; specifically the road between the district capital, Kumbungu, and the town of Gbulung. The bad nature of this road had long been affecting the local farming communities who have to travel to bigger towns to sell their products. During the rainy season, some local businesses have even had to close down.

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Through the initiative of the Gbulung Area Youth Association and the CJs and LC members, the demonstration was organised and announced on radio, Facebook, and WhatsApp to draw people out to join the event. More than a thousand people marched between Gbulung and Kumbungu Town under the slogan “No Road, No Vote” announcing that they would not vote in the 2016 national elections, if the government did not attend to the road immediately. The demonstration gained great media coverage, and the CJs and LC members successfully mobilised community members to raise approx. $150 as an honorarium for the journalists from some of the major media houses who covered the event. The protest went on peacefully without any violent incidences, and the relevant duty bearers were quick to respond: that same day, the Ghanaian Minister of Roads announced that a contractor had been assigned to construct the road between Gbulung and Kumbungu Town.

CJ from Kumbungu leading the “No Road, No Vote”-demonstration.

3. HOLDING DUTY BEARERS ACCOUNTABLE Holding duty bearers accountable is one of the most important impacts of the YSU project. Some of the CJs and LC members were already before the project started involved in advocacy through engagements with the District Assemblies, but experienced problems getting duty bearers to take action. Using media for advocacy is valuable to combat such tendencies because the messages become public and can gain greater public attention.

Radio broadcasts and posts on social media reach large crowds, and duty bearers

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become responsible to more people and are pressured to take action. The YSU project has several examples of how this has taken place.

All of the examples clearly show how duty bearers have listened to and swiftly responded to the issues that the CJs and LC members bring forward. Some communities are neglected or forgotten, but because of the attention that the young participants raise, duty bearers risk their reputation if they do not react.

THE 2% SHARE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

The YSU participants in Kumbungu District have generally had much success putting pressure on duty bearers. In their research on how to better the conditions for people with disabilities (PWDs), the CJs in the district became aware that 2 % of the district common fund had to be allocated towards PWDs. Unaware of this policy PWDs in Kumbungu District had hitherto lived without much support from the District Assembly.

The CJs brought attention to the issue on regional radio, where they shared the information with people throughout the region to bring attention to this policy.

People called in to share their contributions, and it became clear that many PWDs in the Northern Region of Ghana were not aware of this policy. The response from the duty bearers was swift. The District Chief Executive of Kumbungu called in during the programme and invited the CJs to a meeting at the District Assembly. Afterwards, the funds for PWDs were released, and the CJs and LC members took the initiative to develop forms making it easier for PWDs to apply for the funds. Because of this effort, PWDs can now apply for funds for their education, businesses, farming activities, etc.

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Ellen from Saboba is one of the few women community journalists.

EMPOWERING WOMEN Gender inequality strongly influences the possibilities of girls and young women. At the root of it are often cultural norms and social practices. These include early marriage of girls, expectations for large families and resistance to family planning. The gender parity index for primary education is 0.94, and in rural areas only 29 % of women are literate compared to 52 % of men. Women’s participation in decision-making is low at social, political and economic levels, and women rarely hold leadership positions. Their opportunities for participation are influenced by poorer level of education, heavier workload, and entrenched discriminatory beliefs and attitudes towards women.

These conditions also influenced the YSU project. The project aimed to mobilise equal numbers of female and male community journalists and listener club members, but recruiting female participants able to read and speak English was a challenge. While the project had challenges in terms of gender distribution, it proved successful in addressing many of the gender inequalities. The participants addressed gender rights by discussing a range of different topics such as forced marriages, teenage pregnancies, girl-child education, domestic violence, women in politics, and general marginalisation of women.

While bringing attention to areas such as these may not bring about immediate changes, it is part of influencing public discourse in a certain direction and perhaps bringing about a change in people’s attitudes and behaviour.

The young beneficiaries do more than just bring attention to the problems of gender inequality, however. Many of the female beneficiaries in the YSU project have used the recognition they have gained in their communities to stand out as role models for other women. By using themselves as good examples they show how women can prosper and become successful. As one of the female CJs described, “I tell them to work hard so they can reach even further than me. I haven’t gotten that far but I am recognised in my community.”

Having a female role model is very important for women in the rural communities, as it gives them someone to look up to as well as someone they can relate to and feel confortable sharing issues with. The female CJs and LC members have become stakeholders local women can engage with. As one of the female LC members in Saboba describes it:

”

People are motivated, and we encourage more ladies to come on board so that the perception that people have about ladies will be cleared off. And now people are saying that what boys are able to do, girls can equally do that. In some communities, when you go now, when you raise a particular topic, women have a say. So because of that, it has encouraged a lot of parents to pay more attention to their girl-child. What they used to think about the girl-child is no longer so.

Many people are learning from the CJs being ladies. They have learned that if they pay more attention to the girls, something better will come out of it.

”

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THE IMPACT

MEDIA IMPACT 92 % of Ghanaians listen to radio, and it is still the most popular mass media. In the YSU project, radio has been the most important media because of its wide reach. The radio discussions have facilitated much local involvement through phone-ins, texting, and WhatsApp messages. Through the two years of implementation, more than 240 radio shows have been broadcasted in the YSU project on five different radio stations.

Facebook is the most popular social media in Ghana. In the YSU project, Facebook has been widely used to document and draw attention to issues promoted by the youth, and to encourage debate and discussions. Facebook was also used to mobilise people for campaigns and events. A YSU page was created where the CJs and LC members share the issues, stories, opinions and success stories.

WhatsApp is perhaps the most popular social media platform in Ghana as up to 90 % of all young Ghanaians use WhatsApp in their daily lives. In the YSU project, WhatsApp have been used for daily communication, planning of radio broadcasts and other events, debates, disseminating news to professional journalists, a platform for identifying development issues etc. WhatsApp is used for internal communication between the CJs, LC members, community members, and other stakeholders. This includes a shared platform with 20 national media houses.

In the YSU project, Twitter is used as a tool for debates and advocacy. During an Idea Platform event, 11 Twitter users made 19 tweets on the topic “Ending Violence towards Women�.

32,603 Twitter users received the posts, and three days after the Idea Platform, the tweets had been shown almost 60,000 times.

Twitter has been the social media with which the participants have struggled the most. It has a distinct user surface that is not very user-friendly; and despite several trainings the participants still found it difficult to manoeuvre.

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THE IMPACT

SUSTAINABILITY

Ensuring sustainability after funding ends is a challenge with many development projects, and the same is the case for the YSU project. Though the young people have gained capacity to lead advocacy efforts in an autonomous matter, the radio stations are commercially run and were paid for airtime through the project. Will the radio stations be able to continually support the youth when the external financial support ends?

Several interventions have been implemented to ensure a degree of sustainability in the project, so the young people may be able to continue their work in the future. The young people are trained in resource mobilisation strategies and have been successful on some occasions. Some of the youth groups have been able to raise money for demonstrations, the inauguration of a youth centre, and even to build a library.

Resource mobilisation is, however, about more than fundraising – it is also about identifying stakeholders that can support the young people in the future, and in many cases they have been able to create new partnerships. Many of the young people collaborate with decision-makers in their districts today, and while the Districts Assemblies may not be able to support the young people financially, the young people are still maintaining their influence in society.

The aim of the young people’s work is in line with many of the official goals of Ghana’s National Youth Authority and other governmental agents so there is potential for continued support from public agencies.

Some of the youth groups have also become connected with other organisations from whom they might be able to find financial support in the future. The fact that the young people are part of already established youth groups and youth centres also means that they will continue to have a base where they can continue some of their activities.

Sustainability is, however, also about ensuring that this approach will continue to have a life. The methodology used in the YSU project is highly innovative, and it is important that the learning from this project can be put to use in the future. The partners continue to explore opportunities for scaleup and continuation.

The YSU methodology can go beyond the scope of the implementing partners. It is the hope that this project may inspire other development organisations and actors to implement similar projects for marginalised communities around the world.

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THE IMPACT

STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY

Training in resource mobilisation

Use capacity for future employment

Base work in already existing youth structures

Share knowledge through training of trainers

Identify other partners (local or national government, NGOs, CSOs, etc.)

Include the methodology in future work

Streamline with government policies

Brand and market the methodology

On a personal level, these young people may also be able to use the capacities they have gained in the future. Many of them are now acquainted with professional media companies and decision-makers in their districts, and hopefully they may be able to use these contacts for their own gain in the future. According to the UN (2013), a growing number of jobs in the future will require that workers have the capacity to use a range of information and communication technologies.

This may quite likely be the case in Ghana as well, considering the enormous development in people’s use of internet-based technology and social media.

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REPLICABILITY

REPLICATING THE PROJECT

We want the Youth Speak Up methodology to live on beyond the scope of Ghana.

In this section we include a small step-bystep guide to the implementation of the different phases of the project as well as some recommendations and challenges that a project such as this could face.

On page 35 you will find our Step-by-Step guide to getting started.

For more information please refer to Part One that describes the Youth Speak Up approach.

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IDENTIFICATION

(Participants, stakeholders, duty bearers)

Engage relevant stakeholders and duty bearers Enter partnerships with radio stations and other agents Mapping of participants

ESTABLISH GROUPS Select community journalists and listener club members Establish listener clubs Baseline assessments (e.g. youth media profile, social media capacity)

CAPACITY BUILDING Training on issue identification and critical analysis Training on civic education, democratic processes, and governance Training on citizen journalism and producing radio broadcasts Training on social and internet-based media engagements

SUPPORT Weekly radio broadcasts on district level Monthly radio broadcasts on regional level Idea Platforms Learn and Share Sessions Regular support-supervision

SUSTAIN Training on resource mobilisation End-line assessment and/or Evaluation Handover of project to youth stakeholders

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REPLICABILITY

LESSONS LEARNED

CREATE A BRAND The name ‘Youth Speak Up’ has become a household name for many young people in the Northern Region of Ghana and has become known as a project in and of itself. It is advisable that a project such as this gets a specific identity but that it is also clearly associated to the implementing organisations. Creating a “brand” is part of making the project known in the community and among important stakeholders but building the brand upon already existing organisations can also help ensure a sense of legitimacy in the start of the project.

GIVE THE YOUNG PEOPLE AN IDENTITY To ensure that the young people become stakeholders in their communities, it is important that they are given an identity as journalists. The young people were given recognisable T-shirts and stickers to bring attention to who they are, but most importantly they were given ID-cards. The ID-cards created a sense of legitimacy for the young people when they were to engage duty bearers. With the ID-cards they could easier identify themselves as members of the project, and this gave them easier access to district budgets, records, and policies, as it ensured that they could confirm their identity to the relevant stakeholders.

HAVE SUFFICIENT HARDWARE The success of the project does not only depend on the capacities the young people gain but also on the hardware that is being provided to them. The beneficiaries need resources for research, documentation, advocacy, and for transportation. The YSUproject depends on a lot of different hardware such as smartphones, recorders, notepads, bicycles, as well as allowances. In this particular project, phones were only given to CJs and not LC members which to some extent limited the LC members.

It may be worthwhile considering if the participants should be given access to computers to edit podcasts etc.

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REPLICABILITY

CONTEXTUALISE THE PROJECT In Northern Ghana young people tend to be fond users of social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook, but things may be different in other places. Developing a media profile in the context in question and tailoring a project such as this to the local context using local media and local languages is of utmost importance for the success of any project that might try to replicate the YSU methodology.

ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS FROM THE START Holding duty bearers accountable can be challenging, and it is important that a collaborative relationship is established from the start. Implementing partners should engage stakeholders and duty bearers from the start and encourage them to support the project and collaborate with the young people to ensure that future engagements are constructive.

STRUCTURE THE PROJECT AROUND RECURRING EVENTS Having recurring events such as the weekly and monthly radio broadcasts, community meetings, idea platforms, learn and share sessions, etc., is important to ensure that engagements follow a continuous flow and that the young people do not just campaign for a while and then stop once they are done covering an issue.

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REPLICABILITY

CHALLENGES SUSTAINABILITY AFTER THE PROJECT

As has been previously emphasised, the sustainability of the young people’s efforts is hard to ensure after funding for the project runs out. Interventions to help the young people in terms of resource mobilisation and entering new partnerships have been executed, and for a more comprehensive description of the sustainability initiatives that have been taken, please refer to the end of the ‘Impact’ chapter.

COST OF HARDWARE

Since this project is dependent on hardware and somewhat hardware-intensive, there are of course certain challenges as to the financing and maintenance of this hardware.

Also, should the beneficiaries keep the hardware after the project ends, or is it only for them to use during the time the project runs? These are reflections that should be addressed. An alternative to buying hardware can be to partner with local companies as part of the project.

JEALOUSY IN THE COMMUNITY With the popularity that many of the young people get also comes jealousy. Some CJs have experienced that community members have accused them of a range of different things and oftentimes local community members do not realise that the CJs are volunteers and do not make a living from being part of the project. Also, given the fact that CJs are at the front of the project and LC members at the back, some jealousy

has also been seen to develop among the beneficiaries. It is important to ensure that LC members are also given proper attention and responsibility, so the CJs do not get all the recognition.

CREATING “ISLANDS OF EXCELLENCE”

In relation to the above, the Youth Speak Up project target a rather small group of direct beneficiaries, and it is important that others than just them also feel the impact of their trainings. They have to use their capabilities to better the lives of the people in their communities, and they should also be able to pass on the knowledge and skillsets that they have gained. This kind of knowledge sharing may also be a method to combat some cases of jealousy.

INTERNET CONNECTION

Though things are rapidly changing, internet connections are not always good in rural areas of Northern Ghana which is a problem in many countries in the Global South.

CHALLENGING CULTURAL NORMS AND AUTHORITIES The young people sometimes engage in controversial topics and have to challenge duty bearers who do not live up to their responsibilities. Doing so is an important yet sensitive task and requires good communication skills to engage in these topics in a non-confrontational and constructive manner.

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REPLICABILITY

FEELING INSPIRED?

The purpose of this publication has been to share the lessons we have learnt from the Youth Speak Up project in a way for other organisations and development agents to find inspiration.

We are of the firm belief that this methodology can have lasting impacts not only in Ghana but also in other places of the world.

If you and your organisation wish to replicate this methodology, do not hesitate to contact either of the responsible partners in this project. We are also very open to feedback and comments and appreciate any input that can help us improve in the future.

You can also request specific project documents, evaluation etc. from Youth Empowerment for Life or Ghana Friends.

FIND MORE INFORMATION @ For more information about the implementing organisations, please visit our websites: Ghana Friends: ghanavenskab.dk Youth Empowerment for Life: yefl-gh.com RUMNET: rumnetghana.org HOPIN Academy: hopinacademy.org You can also become better acquainted with the YSU-project @ Youth Speak Up web: youthspeakupgh.wordpress.com Facebook: facebook.com/ysugh Twitter: https://twitter.com/YouthSpeakUpGh

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Thank you to… … Staff and volunteers at Youth Empowerment for Life, RUMNET, and HOPIN Academy for information, assistance, and inspiration for this publication while in Ghana. … The CJs, LC members, stakeholders, etc. in Ghana who have shared their stories and achievements. … Ghana Friends, and particularly Lise Grauenkær, for the support and the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful project.

Michael Mærsk-Møller Hansson

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Ghana Friends (GV) is a Danish NGO that has been working for equality and development in the Northern Region of Ghana for more than 30 years. GV supports local communities, women, and young people to organise and fight for their democratic and social rights. GV’s main priorities are strengthening food security, improving livelihoods, the right to quality education, and youth empowerment. The youth empowerment component aims to mobilise young people and support them to organise and raise issues and take initiatives for promoting their social, political, and economic development.

In the YSU project, GV’s main role has been developing the strategic framework, providing technical advisory to partners, monitoring and quality assurance.

Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL) is a youth-led youth organisation that

was established in January 2010. YEfL’s mission is to empower young people through engagements, networks, information sharing, and capacity building to lead change. The organisation organises and strengthens young people to play their part in society as active citizens through a range of capacity building approaches including trainings, supporting linkages for advocacy, and resource mobilisation.

In the YSU project YEfL has been the main implementing and coordinating partner. YEfL has also been responsible for trainings in e.g. civic engagement and resource mobilisation and has monitored the progress of the project throughout the period.

Rural Media Network (RUMNET) is a non-profit development communication

organisation founded in 1996 by journalists. RUMNET’s mission is to support communities in deepening their understanding of developmental issues and identifying solutions to overcome them through participatory development communication and social change. RUMNET also produces a development-oriented newspaper, The Advocate and radio programmes.

In the YSU project RUMNET has been responsible for the radio component of the project, particularly through training the community journalists in relevant journalistic disciplines and radio production. Furthermore, RUMNET has played a role in building relationships with radio stations and networking with major media houses.

HOPIN Academy started in 2013 as a training institution. The goal of HOPIN Academy

is to promote the use of information technology and communication to empower young people and offer them the possibility of exploring their interests and express themselves through various media, writing, design, film, art, and entrepreneurial work. HOPIN Academy runs training courses for young people in web technology, storytelling techniques for self-exploration and expression, and visual training for communication.

In the Youth Speak Up project HOPIN Academy has been responsible for training the participants in using social media and visuals to discuss, display, and address issues of injustice.

Danmarks Indsamling is a yearly national Danish ingathering organised by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR. The funds are distributed to Danish NGOs partnering with South organisations.

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