Youth of Koforidua lead stakeholder co-creation of Municipal-wide Theory of Change for their city

 

The Youth of Koforidua are taking bold steps toward shaping a future driven by their vision as young leaders. In the vibrant Eastern Regional capital, within the New Juaben South Municipality (NJSM), youth empowerment is increasingly critical to development efforts. Following extensive consultations by STAR-Ghana Foundation and its partners under the KofKro initiative, it became evident that a shared vision for youth development in NJSM is crucial to attaining meaningful change. To make this vision a reality, key stakeholders gathered for a two-day workshop dedicated to creating a Theory of Change (ToC) for youth in Koforidua. This event, funded by Fondation Botnar through the Action for Youth Development's KofKro initiative, served as a significant opportunity for youth-led co-creation aimed at shaping a roadmap for the city’s future.

Workshop Objective

The primary objective of the stakeholder engagement workshop was to foster a co-creation process, led by Koforidua’s youth, to develop a municipal-wide ToC that outlines a clear path toward sustainable youth empowerment. Through collaborative dialogue, participants including assembly member, representatives from marginalised groups and Persons With Disabilities were tasked to identify the key challenges facing Koforidua’s youth and explore actionable strategies to address them. The co-creation workshop also sort to build a robust framework that involves youth as leading and active contributors to the development process, ensuring that their voices are heard and integrated into policy and practice.

According to the Head of Programmes at STAR-Ghana Foundation, “It takes people, commitment, and action to get work done and achieve progress.” This statement set the tone for the workshop, reminding participants that success hinges on collaboration and dedication from all stakeholders. Eunice R. Agbenyadzi encouraged the youth to take ownership of their role as active citizens, pushing for accountability from duty bearers and contributing constructively to development efforts.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of NJSM, Hon. Isaac Appaw – Gyasi expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “I expect to leave the workshop as a better city manager,” emphasizing the urgency of youth engagement and follow-through with key stakeholders on the outcomes generated. His remarks underscored the collaborative effort needed to achieve the desired results.

On Day One, participants were grouped to brainstorm and discuss potential outcomes they would like to see in the roadmap. This activity was an energizing start, as youth delegates explored innovative ideas for how Koforidua can transform into a hub for business, technology, and inclusive development. These discussions were facilitated by the Portfolio Manager for Rights to Service and Projects Manager at STAR-Ghana Foundation, who guided the participants in identifying priority areas such as employment creation, education, health, and digital inclusion.

For his part, the Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Hon. Michael Okyere Baafi also addressed the participants, encouraging them to work tirelessly to make Koforidua the desired destination for business and partnerships. The Deputy Trades Minister reaffirmed his commitment to working with the youth to develop a prosperous city, stating, “We need to take bold steps to shape the future of Koforidua, and I am ready to collaborate with you every step of the way.”

Lessons

As the workshop progressed, participants shared key lessons they had learned from the engagement process. Musa Alimatu Sadia, the youngest participant at the workshop reflected on her experience, saying, “I’ve learned how important it is to involve stakeholders at every stage of the process. Everyone has a role to play in making sure that our ideas come to life, and it’s up to us to ensure they listen to us”, highlighting the importance of collective effort in realizing youth development goals.

Another participant, Kwame Ankomah, noted that the workshop had exceeded his expectations, adding, “I came here hoping to get some clarity on how we can bring our ideas to life, and now I feel empowered with the tools and strategies needed to make that happen. The support from our local leaders and partners like Fondation Botnar gives me hope for the future.”

The final day of the workshop saw Koforidua’s youth diving deep into understanding the roles of key stakeholders in bringing their ideas to life. By the end of the day, they had developed a working blueprint, ready for review by the participating stakeholders. The collaborative spirit in the room was palpable, as youth leaders, local officials, and civil society organizations worked together toward a common goal.

The Coordinator for Partnerships at Fondation Botnar , Zur Oren, closed the workshop with an inspiring message: “Use Koforidua as a powerful case study to demonstrate how innovative young people across Ghana can drive meaningful and inclusive development.”

Outcome

Participants collaborated to develop a working blueprint—a roadmap to guide future efforts that will support the youth of Koforidua. This blueprint outlines clear priorities, strategic interventions, and expected outcomes, while defining the roles of key stakeholders, including local government, private sector partners, and civil society organizations. The workshop is designed to promote accountability, ensure youth participation in decision-making processes, and create an enabling environment for business development, partnerships, and innovation in Koforidua.

This stakeholder engagement is just the beginning of a larger movement toward empowering the youth of Koforidua. The roadmap created during these two days will serve as a guiding document, ensuring that the next steps are grounded in shared vision, accountability, and the desire for sustainable growth.

 

Stakeholders push for more investments to improve girl’s education

Speakers at a STAR-Ghana Foundation forum have called for increased investments in education to improve access to education for all.

The call is coming on the back of concerns that poverty and cost-related (hidden) challenges remain foremost on the list of barriers that confront girls’ continuous access to education.

Therefore, the unique needs of girls should be factored into education financing to enable girls to enroll, remain and complete their education.

The forum was held under the theme ‘Increasing Inclusive Access to Continuous Quality Education for Girls.”

In a scoping review of the challenges to girls’ education, Projects Manager at STAR-Ghana Foundation, Dr Ernestina Tetteh, cited as an example, the public outcry over prospectus for senior high school (SHS) education indicates that the Free SHS policy is not as inclusive as purposed to be.

“If accompanying FSHS is an estimated cost of GH₵3000 to GH₵4000 to buy prospectus then some people will still be left out. So, those costs that we see behind ‘free’ does not make it inclusive and ensure that girls also have access to, remain and complete education,” she said.

According to Dr Tetteh, there is low budgetary allocation for specific interventions that benefit girls’ education.

For instance, until the year 2020, complementary basic education, an important strategy in reducing the growing number of ‘out of school children’ especially girls, was solely donor funded. In the 2023 budget, an allocation of GH₵2.1 million has been made for complimentary education, while the Ministry of Education’s Strategic Plan 2018-2030 commits only 1 percent (%) of its Basic Education Budget to supporting Complementary Basic Education programme.

Budget execution

The Executive Director, Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, noted the financing architecture of Ghana’s education system does not prioritise basic education but secondary education.

This, he said gives girls at the secondary level more support to remain in school and complete than at the basic level.

“If you look at the envelope of the Ministry of Education, there is compensation (salaries), and discretionary budget that is unrestricted and could be touched. An analysis of the education budget shows that only about five per cent (5%) of the discretionary budget comes to basic education, it was previously 19 percent, and it has been coming down yearly.”

He added that the way public resources are deployed to finance education determines the extent to which the delivery of education will be possible and will include the needs of the vulnerable.

“Until we can pursue government to prioritise gender-responsive budgeting, we will talk and talk and will not see any improvement,” he said.

The Head of Programmes at STAR-Ghana Foundation, Eunice Racheal Agbenyadzi, beyond advocating for increased budget allocation, civil society should also be interested in actual disbursement, which has shown to be poor (more than 10% variance between allocated and disbursed).

“We need collective influencing on education budget to see increases in the areas of capital expenditure, and goods and services, but also to follow disbursements. We need stronger coalition as civil society to demand this,” she said.

 

The forum
The forum was organised by STAR-Ghana Foundation and partners under the Gender Rights and Empowerment Programme (G-REP) with funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government.

The FCDO on G-REP seeks to contribute to increasing girls’ education, promoting women’s voices, political participation and addressing issues of violence and abuse against women and girls.

Fact sheet

Situation of girls’ education in Ghana

- Ghana has reached gender parity in enrolment, but regional disparities exist, particularly as junior and secondary high levels.

- Girls are still underrepresented in some subjects particularly Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

- Water, sanitation and hygiene related challenges are still persistent

- Girls in school pregnancy causing drop-out among girls is still high

- High number of out of schoolgirls (289,456) ActionAid (2020); 244,731 girls aged 6-14 (GSS 2022)

- Lack of gender disaggregated education data poses a challenge for adequate planning towards the promotion of girls’ education.