KAS Ghana organises workshop for queen mothers in Oti, Volta regions

The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Ghana Office in collaboration with the National Queen Mothers Ghana, Volta and Oti Region chapters has organised a workshop for Queen Mothers in the two regions.

The 6th Annual Queen Mothers workshop which took place in Ho was on the theme “Combating Disinformation and Misinformation: The role of Queen Mothers in Ensuring Good Governance “

In her welcome address, the Country Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Ghana Office, Anna Lena Sabroso-Wasserfall highlighted on the dangers of disinformation and misinformation and the urgent need to address it.

“Mis and disinformation are dangerous. They create confusion about what is true and what is false. They can damage reputations, influence elections, fuel ethnic or political tensions and even lead to violence. In a society where information spreads very quickly, especially through social media false stories often travel faster than facts.

"And this affects not only politics, but also families, schools, and local peace.

"This is why your role as trusted custodians of your communities is so essential. People trust you not only because of your position, but because of your Integrity, your wisdom and your closeness to the people. In times of confusion your voice can restore clarity.

"We want to strengthen your confidence in addressing it.

And we want to strengthen your network among yourselves.

We hope this workshop will offer practical tools, to help in addressing it”, she stated.

The Chairperson for the programme, Togbe Tepre Hodo IV, the Paramount Chief of Anfoega Traditional Area and President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs expressed his appreciation to KAS Ghana for the initiative and urged the Queen Mothers to fight for representation at all levels of the traditional sector.

“This kind of conversation is what we need to take down to our traditional rules. As leaders, we come across all manner of misinformation and the most dangerous part is the disinformation. We should be involved in our efforts as to how to manage such situations.

"With this digital age, lying has become so easy. The worst part of it all is the disinformation, which to greater extent is deliberate, and is a problem that we need to find solutions to.

"As far as my Queen Mothers are concerned, I want to urge you to fight for representation at all levels of our traditional sector. There is no doubt Queen Mothers play critical roles at both traditional and national levels and its high time Ghana recognizes this fact.

"This workshop and trainings are conducted to strengthen and equip you for greater good. Let us join the fight to get the recognition at all levels,” he emphasised.

Dr James Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr who serves as a lecturer at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) in Accra, was one of the Facilitators for the workshop. He reiterated the importance of empowering the Queen Mothers.

“Queen Mothers play a significant role whether in matrilineal or patrilineal system of society. As such, it was important to share knowledge with them on how to deal with misinformation and disinformation.

"We believe that if Queen Mothers are empowered, they would be able to take up their roles and responsibilities”, he observed.

The Paramount Queen Mother of the Sokpoe Traditional Area in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region, Mamaga Adzesu II stated that the workshop will empower them to have positive impact in their communities.

“We are privileged to be part of the workshop organized by KAS to empower we the Queen Mothers and to make us aware of some of our roles that we play in our traditional council.

"We have been taken through training sessions on misinformation and disinformation that we can take to our homes and communities in order to impact our people. We are very grateful to KAS for organizing this program for us,” she added.

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