Bright Appiah receives Order of the Volta award, pledges to strengthen advocacy for child rights

The Executive Director of Child Rights International, Bright Kweku Appiah was among 28 distinguished individuals honoured at today’s National Honours and Awards and Presidential Honours for Distinguished Service held in Accra.

Mr. Appiah received the prestigious Order of the Volta – Member award in recognition of his exemplary service in the field of child advocacy.  

The citation accompanying his award highlighted his two decades of tireless dedication, stating: “Your tireless work has earned you recognition from stakeholders in the government, civil society and international organizations. Your participation in national and international fora on Child Protection has positioned Ghana as a model for child advocacy in Africa. Your impact as a defender and advocate for Children’s Rights remains an inspiration to individuals and institutions working to uphold the dignity of every child, and so in recognition of your dedicated service to Ghana, the Republic of Ghana confers on you, Mr Bright Appiah, the state honour of the Order of the Volta – Member.”  

Speaking after the ceremony, Mr. Appiah reflected on the significance of the honour, attributing it to his years of advocacy. “Well, yes, looking at the citation that was given, it’s because of what we’ve done over the years. I’ve been in this for more than 20 years, and we feel that our work has been recognised by the state. And for some of us, it’s just a starting point for us to do more,” he said.  

He further emphasised that the award serves as a motivation to intensify his organisation’s efforts in protecting children’s rights. “So this particular award is going to energize us to do more, to make sure that we explore all other avenues to ensure that the rights of children are protected. And that’s what we’re going to do moving forward.”  

Focus on 2025  

Looking ahead to 2025, Mr. Appiah revealed that his organisation will be prioritising several critical areas affecting children, particularly in rural and vulnerable communities. He highlighted the adverse impact of illegal mining, or galamsey, on children in mining regions.  

“We’ve conducted research on illegal mining and how it’s affecting children in the rural communities, and that is one of the things that we’re going to pursue in 2025 to make sure that the children in the mining areas have access to education because what galamsey is doing to them is serious,” he stated.  

In addition, Mr. Appiah outlined plans to tackle issues of juvenile justice and streetism, which continue to pose significant challenges. “These are critical issues that in 2025 we’re going to pick up, and whatever avenue that is available for us to ensure that we fight for the rights of children, we’ll engage those avenues,” he added.  

Reaction to the release of WASSCE results  

On the sidelines of the event, Mr. Appiah commented on the release of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, which had caused anxiety due to delays.  

“As I was telling your colleagues, we’ve got the information that the Ministry of Education will release some funds for them to be able to release the results. And if they’ve done that, I think that’s a good thing,” he said.  

He also called for proactive measures to prevent such delays in the future, urging improved management systems. “Moving forward, I think that we have to be forward-looking so that some of these things should not even happen in the first place for us to create some kind of panic in the system. So incoming governments should be able to have a very strong management system to deal with some of these issues,” he concluded. 

About the National Honours and Awards 2024

The National Honours and Awards is a national awards ceremony that honours citizens who have rendered distinguished services to Ghana in various fields and careers.

The Award was instituted in 1960 to honour distinguished and deserving Ghanaians in various disciplines of national development and endeavour, celebrating creativity, innovation, excellence and hardwork.

The maiden ceremony of the National Honours and Awards was held when Ghana became a Republic under the leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Since then, the initiative to honour deserving Ghanaians and foreign nationals, has become part of the nation.

A new category, The Presidential Honours and Awards for Distinguished Service was instituted by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2023 to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary contribution of individuals and institutions for their resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Akufo-Addo, noted with pride how citizens, institutions, and global development partners rallied together to protect human life and mobilised resources for the common good.

To be honoured this year are individuals, institutions and partners, who have distinguished themselves while serving mother Ghana with the following Award categories; 

- Presidential Honours for Distinguished Service Grand Medal Order of the Volta,
- Member Order of the Volta,
- Companion Order of the Star of Ghana,
- Member Order of the Star of Ghana, Officer.