Goal - Reaching new heights with Debate Mate

Goal is the Bank’s community engagement programme that combines sports with life-skills training to empower girls with the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to be integral economic leaders in their families and communities.

In May 2017, Goal was launched in Ghana with peer coaches from The Right to Dream Academy and Nimobi Ladies.

On the second anniversary of the Goal launch, Standard Chartered Bank hosted a gender empowerment and skills development programme for the Bank’s Goal Coaches and facilitators. The programme brought together 45 participants aged between 11 and 20 years to the debate and active skills-based workshop.

Working with Debate Mate Ltd. an innovative global business that uses the fundamentals of debating to teach communication and leadership skills across the world – the programme focused on equipping the Goal participants with key communication, leadership entrepreneurial and employability skills to enable them to be successful in life.

Secondly, the session sought to enable the Goal coaches with the knowledge skills and resources to deliver sustainable programmes in their local communities.

The main exploring topics of the sessions focused on contextualised relevant local issues ranging from the merits of social media; feasibility of enforcing 50:50 gender split into all sports teams and the value of only supporting locally owned businesses and producers over foreign companies.

Though the debate brought together young girls from different communities in Ghana, of different ages they represented a shared purpose; to persuade the audience on the merits of their argument.

The passion exhibited by the young girls declaring their “opposition to the motion put forward by the house” and subsequently articulating a precise and thorough argument even when this may have been contrary to their personal views, represented the rapid pace of the programme.

Speaking after the programme, Asiedua Addae, Head Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Standard Chartered Bank said ‘we are delighted to have had this training for our Goal coaches and facilitators, we are confident that the shills acquired during the training will serve them well and they will impart the knowledge to other girls in their communities”.

The 15 facilitators who started the week with their own communication insecurities at the end of programme had been empowered with the tools and the confidence to deliver their own debating programmes.