Media Foundation for West Africa
Building the capacity of radio stations to do effective reporting on women rights issues
Radio is an important communications tool in Ghana
Participating MFWA journalists
The Media Foundation for West Africa is a regional non-governmental organisation based in Accra, Ghana. It was established in 1997 to defend and promote the rights and freedoms of the media, and generally, to help expand the boundaries of freedom of speech and expression in West Africa. Among the objectives of the organisation are to raise public awareness on media rights and free expression through monitoring abuses and attacks; promote legislative and policy reform; seek justice through litigation; advance media professional standards; and support mass media in projects for the promotion of human rights, peace and democratic institutions.
In 2010-11, MFWA received a grant from the Canadian High Commission to fill a major gap in radio programming by building the capacity of selected radio stations to do effective reporting, programming and advocacy on women rights issues.
The current limited focus on women’s rights issues on radio is caused by the:
- limited technical and professional capacity for designing, producing and broadcasting quality women’s rights-focused programmes;
- limited knowledge on women’s rights issues among journalists;
- limited collaboration between radio stations and rights enforcement institutions such as the Domestic Violence and Victims’ Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ); and
- limited opportunities for women to talk about their issues on radio.
The project hopes to build the capacity of 16 male and female journalists from eight (8) radio stations in the Western and Central Regions of Ghana. These stations will be consisting of the regional radio station of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), two campus-based radio station and four rural-based radio stations.
