International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) has received massive thumbs up for its role in building the capacity of Journalists on Child Labour and Force Labour.
This commendation was given by Journalists at the end of a 4-Day Training held in Kumasi, in the Ashanti region under the auspices of ICI.
Child labor continues to be a pressing issue globally with Ghana having the highest rates of child labor per country in the world , where about 21% of the childhood population in the country participating in some form of child labor.
It is against the severity of the situation that the ICI embarked on the training for which the beneficiary Journalists gave the commendation.
“ I now have better appreciation of child labour and Force Labour issues. Even though I knew about it in a general terms, the ICI training has given me more insight into the subject matter”, Emmanuel Agbaxode of GNA Volta region, emphasized.
An Editor in Chief at GBC, Ms. Rebecca Ekpe said the nature of the training, coupled with slow pace at which the Moderator Mr. Prince Gyamfi handled the subject matter was phenomenal adding that “it helped almost every participant to digest it.
“…..the way the Participants showed keen interest and contributed to the discussions is a testament that the training has been useful and I commend ICI for that”.
The 4-Day Training which begun on the 10th and ended on the 14th of October 2023 saw Journalists [drawn across the cocoa growing communities] being taken through topics such as understanding of who a child is, Permissible child work with practical illustrations, case studies and minimum age for non hazardous work.
Others are causes and contextual factors of child labour, Ghana legal framework & International Conventions /Standards on Child Labour, indicators of Forced labour, Forced Labour of children, Cocoa Sector Specific risk factors of forced labour.
Principle of Ethical Journalism, Telling the story/Mediums of telling the story and Reporting on Children were some of the Journalism specific topics, aimed at sensitizing them to prioritize the aforementioned issues.
The Deputy Director of ICI, Mr. Prince Gyamfi and the GJA General Secretary, Mr. Kofi Yeboah in turns touched the need for the Participants to use the knowledge acquired to impart their work and society.
ICI’s vision is of thriving cocoa-growing communities within a dignified, sustainable and responsibly managed cocoa supply chain, where child rights and human rights are protected and respected, and where child labour and forced labour have been eliminated.
Source:www.senaradioonline.com
