By
Justina Paaga, GNA
Shama(WR), Dec.5,
GNA – The Chairman of the Western Regional Peace Council, Reverend John Ernest
Kwofie has tasked women to be ambassadors of peace in their Communities to
ensure peace in the country.
He said women could
either be victims of conflicts or agents of peace building and should therefore
play active roles towards Sustainable peace.
Rev. Kwofie said
this at the opening of a two-day training workshop for women in the Shama
District of the Western Region on the theme,”Increasing the voices,
participation and inclusion of women for conflict prevention, before, during
and after election 2020″.
The workshop,
organised by the National Peace Council with funding from the Canadian Embassy
is to among others increase the voices, participation and inclusion of women in
conflict prevention before, during and after the 2020 election.
Rev Kwofie noted
that women mostly averted conflicts and were responsible for resolving
conflicts and played key roles in bridging divisions and acting as mediators.
“The cases of
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia civil wars, for instance show some of the
different ways in which women have been involved in peace process”.
Rev Kwofie pointed
out that the inclusion of women did not only mean promoting their participation
in formal settings, but also to recognise where they impacted, through nformal
structures such as their families.
“To effectively
play this role, there is the need for the capacities of women to be built in
conflict prevention and response strategies”.
The Council Chairman
reminded the women of the upcoming district elections and urged them to let
what they learnt to reflect in their day to day activities.
Dr Enyonam C
Kudonoo, Senior Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration,
Ashesi University College, who facilitated the workshop, pointed out that positive communication
could minimise conflict situations and urged the participants to endeavour to
engage in positive communications.
She urged them to
avoid using intemperate language, but rather use words that built best worlds,
adding “use words to build the comfortable world you want to live
in”.
Dr Enyonam urged
them to impact positively in society through what they learnt to manage
conflicts in the society.
The participants
were taken through types, factors and causes of conflicts, violence, conflict
escalation, conflict de-escalation, non- violent communication, Dialogue and
conflict management and response.
GNA
