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To promote learning and development among their staff, Compassion International Ghana (CIGH), a non-governmental organisation advocating the comprehensive development of children and youth in the country, has held its maiden ‘Thriving Child Seminar Series’ (THriCSS) in Accra.
The THriCSS was also used as a conduit for forging strategic partnerships with organisations which shared same values with the CIGH, endowed with resources and capacities that complement their efforts in responding to the exigencies of child and youth development in Ghana.
In a welcome address read on his behalf, the National Director of CIGH, Kobina Yeboah Okyere, noted that after nearly two decades of operation, his outfit had encountered various hurdles in ministering to children and young people.
Thus, this initiative provided a platform for seeking solutions with similar organisations which were serving the needs of children and the youth in Ghana.
Touching on the theme – “Policy Framework on Children: The Law and Practice”, Mr Okyere said the policy framework concerning children must be firmly rooted in international conventions and declarations that delineate their rights.
“This theme encapsulates our unwavering dedication to fostering a society where every child is not merely observed, but genuinely heard.
A society where their dreams are nurtured and their vulnerabilities are shielded from harm,” he said
At the event, the Executive Director of the Ark Foundation Ghana, Dr Angela Dwamena Aboagye, said globally, there were great issues when it comes to the welfare and protection of children.
She outlined the fast pace of technological changes, climactic changes, threats from full scale war, breakdown of the family system, sex tourism and prostitution as well as child marriage as some of the challenges threatening children.
She, therefore, called for collaboration between researchers, advocates and practitioners to solve these challenges which affect the welfare of children.
“Looking at the global outlook, since COVID-19, the world has moved in a fast pace of technological changes and the current global challenges present more complex issues to practitioners and the concerns have been collaboration,” she said.
For his part, the Executive Director of Child Rights International, Bright Appiah, called for cyber security laws to protect children from online abusers.
“At every stage there is something that we must do to protect children.
The issue of online protection of children is a big issue and cyber security law is one of the things we have to push for.”
“I am of the view that in order to grow our laws, we have to look at other countries and how they protect children,” Mr Appiah said.
