NCCE holds post-election engagement on tolerance

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has rolled out post-election engagement programmes on peace and tolerance for the youth.

The project, which is being done in collaboration with UNESCO, engages the youth on the need to protect the 1992 Constitution at all times and ensure peaceful inter-party and intra-party activities and also seeks to build the culture of tolerance among the youth to ensure that the nation develops in an environment of peace.

It is on the theme: “Empowering the Youth to Stand up for Peace and National Unity".

Divergent opinions

At one of such programmes at Atimpoku last Friday, the Eastern Regional Programmes Officer of the NCCE, Madam Agnes Asantewaa, urged the youth to develop the culture, ability and willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behaviour that one disliked or disagreed with.

She said people must develop the capacity to endure even in the face of extreme provocation.

“In life there are several things that we may dislike; we must make room for all those that we find offensive or move away from the presence of the offensive conduct,” she stated.

Madam Asantewaa, therefore, urged the youth to be peace ambassadors, abhor violence and create room to tolerate divergence views without being physically and emotionally abusive.

Peer educators

The NCCE Director of Communication, Mrs Joyce Affutu, charged the youth to serve as peer educators.

“It's no secret that the youth are often the perpetrators of election-related violence, acting out of ignorance of the various rules or regulations”.

She explained that the NCCE and partners embarked on the training to equip the youth with knowledge of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act, 214), Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act, 999).

She entreated the public to secure Police permit before embarking on any form of demonstration.

Participants were also taken through Grievances Handling Procedures and Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism.

Code of conduct

The Eastern Regional Secretary of the National Peace Council, Mr Prince Albert Koomson, enlightened the participants on the Code of Conduct for Political Parties.

He said the Road map to Ending Political Party Vigilantism in Ghana was to discourage the youth from indulging in political party vigilantism and its related violence. — GNA.