Journalist, Gender Advocate wins US Department of State Award
Ghanaian journalist and gender activist, Regina Asamoah, has been awarded the United States Department of State International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) Impact Award Grant, 2024, for her ‘Young Voices Matter’ project, aimed at equipping young children with skills to combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
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One hundred and twenty applicants from 101 countries were selected as recipients of the grant. All awardees will receive financial support from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The Meridian International Centre will serve as the implementing partner for their respective projects in their home countries. The ‘Young Voices Matter: Empowering Boys and Girls in the Fight Against Gender-Based Violence’ project is one of the selected few that stood tall among over 600 other global projects submitted by individuals for the grant.
The educative project also aims at creating awareness of GBV involving children and fostering a safe and supportive environment for both girls and boys.
It will be implemented in Accra, in partnership with Missing Children Ghana, an organisation dedicated to finding children who have gone missing and reuniting them with their families.
Grant award
This grant award follows the multiple award-winning Ms Asamoah’s participation in the 2023 IVLP on Gender-Based Violence held in the United States upon her nomination by the U.S. Embassy in Ghana.
The programme was organised by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, Global Ties Akron and Gulf Coast Diplomacy.
She joined eight other children and gender advocates from Algeria, Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria and Guinea for the three-week exchange programme.
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The project will engage 100 pupils from two selected schools in educational sessions designed to equip them with the knowledge and tools to combat GBV.
These sessions will be supplemented by a workshop involving 10 teachers, enlightening and empowering them to effectively address GBV issues within their classrooms and school communities.
A training manual will be developed for the teachers, which will subsequently serve as part of project sustainability. Again, two compelling five-minute documentaries will be produced from the training of pupils and their teachers.
At the end of it all, participants are expected to become informed advocates demonstrating knowledge and skills to tackle GBV and to effect tangible change within their schools and communities.
IVLP
The IVLP is a professional exchange programme funded by the U.S. Department of State. Launched in 1940, IVLP aims to build mutual understanding between the United States and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.
Participants are nominated and selected annually by the staff at U.S. embassies worldwide.