Curious Minds, a youth-led advocacy non-governmental organization has trained youth in Accra and Cape Coast on the effective use of social media for advocacy.
The two-day training sought to educate participants on how to use social media for advocacy and also teach members social media campaign development and implementation process to champion diverse causes including reproductive health and also engage various stakeholders for change.
The lead trainer, who is also the Advocacy and Communication Officer at Curious Minds, Cecil Ato Kwamena Dadzie, noted that the platform was intended to build the capacity, while also equipping them with the right skills to contribute to meaningful discussions online.
The training organized by Curious Minds was supported by RFSU – the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education. It sought to teach participants how to use their most powerful advocacy tool, their voices along with digital platforms, to affirm and empower others who are more likely to experience violence and other violations of bodily autonomy.
Kwamena Dadzie used the occasion to also call on relevant stakeholders to add their voices and actions in the bid to reduce the increasing number of violations of bodily autonomy. He urged that young people be given access to sexual and reproductive health information.
“Different Charters and Conventions recognize the developing capacities of young people and admonish all stakeholders to provide information and guidance to enable young people to participate meaningfully in decisions about their bodies and futures,” he said.
He said: “I will use this opportunity to call on all stakeholders to ensure a reduction in violations of bodily autonomy. Many young people are still denied their right to access sexual and reproductive health information and services. The situation must change if we want to achieve the sustainable development goals, particularly Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5.”
Some participants of the two-day training programme acknowledged the impact, having realized how relevant social media is and how it can be used as a means to advocate for a better society
Fauzeeya Jamal-Deen, one of the participants said: “The training session was insightful and educative. I have understood the steps in social media campaigning and how useful and important hashtags are. I have also learnt how audience personas are important in planning content for advocacy using social media on reproductive health education and issues regarding bodily autonomy.”
She appealed that the training should be replicated across the country to teach more and more people about the use of social media for advocacy and bodily autonomy.
