Civil society train on CEAL guide

Saturday, May 29, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 34)

By Rebecca Kwei
A workshop to train representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) on the Citizens' Education Action Learning (CEAL) Guide has been held in Accra.
The CEAL guide, which was inspired by the Commonwealth Foundation's Citizens and Governance programme, provides practical ways of bringing about the greater participation of people in the governance of the things that affect their lives.
About 25 participants from countries in West Africa and Cameroon took part in the five-day workshop, which was hosted by Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation.
The facilitator was the Executive Director of Dignity International, Jerald Joseph.
According to Mr Frank Bodza of WiLDAF Ghana, the Commonwealth Foundation was formed to strengthen CSOs across the Commonwealth as the CSOs promoted democracy, advanced sustainable development and fostered inter-cultural understanding.
The CEAL Guide, he said, would enable members of CSOs to better engage with citizens and their beneficiary audience for development.
He said the training was at the same time being held in East Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
Mr Bodza said the training workshop would enable CSOs to develop knowledge and skills and involve citizens as active participants in the governance process.
He noted that if people participated in governance, better decision-making processes would be formulated and that would ultimately lead to more effective development and a better society.
He said the CEAL Guide was primarily written for facilitators, trainers or community leaders in the field of citizenship and governance education.
However, it could be used as a resource material for anyone who might be interested in citizenship and governance, he added.