Ama Achiaa Amankwah Baafi

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

The Change We Want A #ShiftThePower Manifesto Poem

This is an artistic expression of the #shiftthepower campaign to inspire change and drive transformation on the various levels of the development sector regarding the relationship between the Minority global north and the Majority Global South.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/mXn7tAjCIRA

Written by: Gideon Ahenkorah, West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)

Acted by: Gideon Ahenkorah & Ama Achiaa Amankwah Baafi of STAR-Ghana Foundation

Video by: Fiifi Boateng, Deborah Nana Ama Abbey & Rosemond Ansah, all of (West Africa Civil Society Institute)

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Building momentum for inclusive development --STAR-Ghana Foundation leads feedback engagement on PWD Bill

STAR-Ghana Foundation under the Action for Voice and Inclusive Development (AVID) project is making strides in influencing reforms that secure the rights of persons with disabilities.

AVID is an initiative funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and aims to create an inclusive society where everyone’s voice is heard and valued.

Tuesday, April 09, 2024

2024 Elections: STAR-Ghana Foundation holds nationwide manifesto-influencing campaign

In an effort to engage diverse communities and gather input for the Manifesto Influencing Initiative, STAR-Ghana Foundation has organized four zonal town hall meetings across the country.

The gatherings were strategically planned to ensure representation from various regions and stakeholder groups, fostering an inclusive and collaborative approach to policy development.

The Manifesto Influencing initiative, a component of the Gender Rights and Empowerment Programme (GREP), commenced with zonal town hall meetings in Tamale, Wa, Ho, Kumasi, and Cape Coast,

The nationwide exercise provided a platform to solicit views and concerns of the citizenry around healthcare delivery, education, and social protection. These are to be discussed with the various political parties to incorporate them into their manifestos for the 2024 general elections.

Friday, March 29, 2024

Empowering Change: STAR-Ghana Foundation's Volunteerism Co-Creation, Inception Workshop inspires hope

In a bustling conference hall in the heart of the Ashanti regional capital, representatives from various organizations and regions gathered with eager anticipation for a unique opportunity – the STAR-Ghana Foundation Volunteerism Project Co-Creation and Inception Workshop. This event promised not only a platform for collaboration but also a chance to shape the future of community-driven initiatives.

Selected partners from diverse sectors, ranging from education to healthcare, were invited to present their project proposals for feedback and refinement. The atmosphere buzzed with energy as participants exchanged ideas and shared their visions for positive change in Ghana.

As the workshop commenced, the facilitators emphasized the importance of volunteerism as a catalyst for social transformation. They highlighted STAR-Ghana's commitment to empowering grassroots initiatives and fostering a culture of active citizenship.

Monday, March 18, 2024

STAR-Ghana Foundation, partners, elated as Basic education receive highest GETFund allocation in 7 years.

The recent approval of the highest-ever allocation from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to basic education by Parliament signals a significant advancement in educational investment under the current government. The allocation of GH₵800 million, representing 20 percent of the total GETFund formula for 2024, marks a substantial increase from the 12 percent allocated in 2023, highlighting the government's heightened recognition of the pressing need for infrastructure development at the basic education level.

A breakdown shows GH₵370 million for new and ongoing basic school projects, GH₵270 million for procurement, and GH₵100 million for furniture, underscoring a comprehensive approach towards addressing the challenges faced by the basic education sector. This progress is a significant step forward, following years of advocacy efforts led by STAR-Ghana Foundation through its partnership with Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), and collaborations with civil society organizations (CSOs), including the Ghana National Education Campaign (GNECC), CSOs Platform on SDGs and Africa Education Watch.

The Foundation in an appreciation letter to parliament expressed gratitude to Chairman and members of the Education Committee for their “unwavering support to equitable and quality access to education”.

A critical aspect of STAR-Ghana Foundation's engagement involved fruitful interactions with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education and consistent dialogue with the Minister of Education, ensuring that the voices of stakeholders were heard and considered in the decision-making process. This collaborative approach facilitated productive discussions, which ultimately led to the approval of this historic allocation for basic education.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Parliament’s Committee on Education pledges more engagement

Parliament’s Select Committee on Education has pledged to engage the Ministry of Education to convene a national conversation on education delivery as one of the ways of enhancing space for citizen-state dialogues on issues of importance to citizens.

This follows a strategic dialogue held between CSOs and the Education Committee of Parliament. The meeting, convened by STAR-Ghana Foundation brought together CSOs including the African Education Watch, Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition, International Child Development Programme, and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, to dialogue with Parliament’s Select Committee on Education on key issues in basic education. The meeting discussed “Memorandum of Issues in the Basic Education Sector” put together by the Foundation and and its partners.

In his opening remarks, Executive Director of STAR-Ghana Foundation, Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, acknowledged parliament’s work with the Foundation, stressing the importance of the relationship between the two.

“For us, your presence is a testimony of the importance you attach to working with us, which is to help improve the quality of education and make it accessible to all students of this country, regardless of your social status” he said.

He added, “We believe that strengthening the nexus between civil society, Parliament, and duty bearers is critical to any improvement in the country.”

Thursday, March 07, 2024

CSSF Partners inception meeting - Shifting the Power for collective impact

Since last year, STAR-Ghana Foundation and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) have been implementing an eight-year Civil Society Strengthening Programme – Shifting the Power (CSSP – #StP) which seeks to enhance the effectiveness, responsiveness, and resilience of Civil Society Actors (CSAs).

With funding from Comic Relief and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), there are three main grant components under the CSSP-#StP): the Catalyst fund, Civil Society Strengthening Fund (CSSF) and Resource Matching fund.

Tuesday, January 09, 2024

Report on Ghana Civil Society Sustainability (CSOs) Forum

In March 2022, STAR-Ghana Foundation hosted the maiden edition of the national forum on Civil Society Sustainability in Ghana under the theme: "reflections on the conceptual and developmental issues of CSOs in Ghana and the sustainability challenge" - to create space for civil society actors to consolidate ideas on how to sustain the sector. The convening was conceived by CSOs in Ghana after several rounds of consultations. Recommendations proffered on the way forward included: the need to create a common platform for regular deliberations and reflections on the work that CSOs do, the need to diversify CSOs funding sources to navigate the dwindling external funding for CSOs; building the capacities of CSOs to effectively leverage the emerging forms of citizen mobilization and civic activism. With respect to the proposed “National forum on civil society sustainability in Ghana” the key recommendation by the participants included the institutionalisation of the forum and engagements with the NPO secretariat on the way forward around the regulatory framework.

Friday, December 22, 2023

ENTER THE POETRY CONTEST ON CLIMATE CHANGE - You do NOT have to be an experienced poet!

STAR-Ghana Foundation is excited to announce our poetry contest focused on the critical theme of “Climate Change”.

This is in collaboration with Comic Relief, Tilitonse Foundation (Malawi), Zambian Governance Foundation and the West Africa Civil Society Institute.

Kindly find the details through this link: - https://www.comicrelief.com/project-dreamworld/

https://www.star-ghana.org/latest-news/621-first-time-writers-lifelong-poets-truth-tellers

Poetry contest consultant wanted

STAR-Ghana Foundation is on the lookout for a talented poetry contest consultant to join our team and help bring the magic of words to life!

https://www.star-ghana.org/latest-news/624-poetry-contest-consultant-wanted

Friday, October 13, 2023

In search of ‘Shift the Power', 'Red Nose Day’

If you ever wanted to understand the expression “shift the power” and ‘red nose day” the place to be was the Shift the Power (#StP) learning and convening event in Accra, from 9th-12th October, where a search for the definition of #StP and ‘Red Nose Day’ unpacked the phrases.

A rare fundraising strategy to find, ‘Red Nose Day’ is an annual fundraising campaign created by philanthropic organisation, Comic Relief to end child poverty throughout the world. Red Nose Day is all about making a difference in the lives of other people. The money raised goes towards helping so many life-changing projects in the United Kingdom and across the world.

Thursday, October 05, 2023

STAR-Ghana Foundation trains catalyst fund partners on ‘safeguarding’

STAR-Ghana Foundation has held a learning session on safeguarding for twenty (20) catalyst fund partners under the Civil Society Strengthening Programme Shift The Power (CSSP-#StP).

The two-day session, from Wednesday, 4th October to Thursday, 5th October 2023 took place at Aburi, in the Akuapem South District of the Eastern Region and comprised presentations, group work and the drafting of policies.

Monday, September 11, 2023

Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu inducted Special Star Achiever

STAR-Ghana Foundation's Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, Executive Director, has been inducted into the Prestigious Northern Sector Youth & Mentors Achievers’ Awards Hall of Fame as a 'Special Star Achiever'.

He was inducted during an engagement with some civil society organisations (CSOs) in Tamale in the Northern region.

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.

Friday, September 08, 2023

‘Vulnerable groups key to achieve sustainable development’

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.

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

STAR-Ghana Foundation at 5 - Commits to deepening work around rights to services, strengthening of civil society, peace, security, inclusive and accountable governance.

Somewhere in Ghana, a country known for its vibrant democracy, culture and rich history, a Foundation was birthed out of the STAR Ghana Programme.

Driven by the vehicle of Convening inclusive dialogues, catalysing active citizenship, Coordinating, and supporting strategic partnerships and Learning, STAR-Ghana Foundation continues to work diligently in supporting civil society to engage with government and drive forward a development agenda that leaves no one behind through Local Philanthropy and Active Citizenship for meaningful change.

Monday, July 24, 2023

STAR-Ghana Foundation builds staff capacity in Policy Brief writing.

STAR-Ghana Foundation has organized a capacity building training on Policy Brief writing for staff. The training sought to educate and equip the targeted staff with the fundamentals of good policy briefs and critical skills for tailoring policy documents to achieve the intended result.

The two-day training focused on understanding the basics of developing good policy briefs. It also highlighted the importance of clearly defining gaps and recommending workable solutions. The meeting noted, that applying the rule of accuracy, brevity and clarity helps to structure writing and focus on the essential action point in a policy brief. Participants were taken through the rudiments and types of policy briefs, how to structure it, how to give it the needed punch and who to influence among other crucial areas of consideration.

Thursday, July 06, 2023

Two Foundations and a City; an alliance of opportunities for development

If you are familiar with the phrase that preaches taking two to knit a bargain, you most likely have wondered if there is a third party and or beneficiary lurking. Questions like these, unless obvious, are often left unanswered. They say for every rule, there is an allowable variation. In this story, you are certainly satisfying your curiosity about who takes the bargain.

This is a story of Fondation Botnar and STAR-Ghana Foundation knitting a bargain for and with the city of Koforidua, so you would be absolutely right to say two “Foundations and a city” is an exception of the knitting rule because it is a three-way bargain. A bargain that requires “duty bearers to take young people seriously and get young people involved in governance.” This has become necessary because of the apparent exclusion of the youth in local governance according to the District League Table valuation.

During a two-day project development workshop in Koforidua, Project Manager for ‘Action for Youth Development (AfYD) Our City Project’ , Dr Ernestina Korleki-Tetteh, highlighted the steps preceding the workshop, and the different levels of engagements with stakeholders including young people, the courtesy calls on the Omanhene, the municipal chief executive among others, to deliberate and provide input for the design and implementation of the pro-youth project.

Community Based Organizations (CBOs) took turns to pitch their project proposals and undertook review exercises to tailor the drafts to more youth-centered initiatives. The engagement of these potential partners is under the ‘Action for Youth Development (AfYD) Our City Project’ implemented by STAR-Ghana Foundation with funding from Fondation BOTNAR.

Monday, June 19, 2023

STAR-Ghana Foundation, WACSI hold orientation for catalyst fund partners of Civil Society Strengthening Project (CSSP) - Shift the Power

STAR-Ghana Foundation and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) have held an orientation for catalyst fund partners under the Civil Society Strengthening Programme Shifting Power (CSSP-#StP) in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The CSSP-#StP is an eight-year programme being implemented by STAR Ghana Foundation and WACSI with funding from https://www.comicrelief.com/ and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), that seeks to enhance the effectiveness, responsiveness, and resilience of Civil Society Actors (CSAs).

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Fondation Botnar expands initiative to advance young people’s urban wellbeing to Ghana

Today, Swiss philanthropic organisation Fondation Botnar adds the city of Koforidua in Ghana, to its global OurCity initiative that leverages local strengths, community engagement and digital technologies to transform cities and ensure young people’s wellbeing.

Following its success in several cities, including Tanga in Tanzania and Cluj-Napoca in Romania, the city of Koforidua in Ghana is joining the OurCity initiative that supports cities in transforming them into youth-centred places by enabling young people to take part in city design and governance.

Friday, April 21, 2023

STAR-Ghana Foundation launches Civil Society Strengthening Programme - Civil society actors receive long-term support to sustain their initiatives

STAR-Ghana Foundation and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) are currently implementing the Civil Society Strengthening Programme Shift the Power (CSSP/#StP) with funding from Comic Relief and the UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

This eight-year programme aims to provide long term support to Civil Society Actors (CSA) in Ghana, contributing to their resilience, responsiveness, and effectiveness in delivering the priorities of their constituents.

It seeks to build institutional resilience of civil society organisations in Ghana by providing a more progressive, negotiated, participatory and widely owned solution to social development work.