Hosted by E.K.Bensah Jr, a Research & Communications Specialist, the show seeks to disrupt the African Rising narrative by demystifying;unpacking; and explaining ECOWAS;African Union; South-South Cooperation policies around Africa's integration.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
COMING UP!!>>Ep.51:Afri-Tourism (2): Matters Arising on Branding Africa when the UNWTO is in Town!
Episode #51:
Afri-Tourism
(2): Matters Arising on Branding Africa when the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is in Town!
Back on 9
September, 2014, our first focus on Afri-Tourism was powerful and deliberate:
we had a definition for our listeners on what defines Afri-Tourism. Just to
remind listeners, we defined it as “the witting attempt by Africans to purchase
African products while visiting African countries.”
This definition
was not plucked out of the blue, but based on a deliberate process of having
had four tourism-related shows from which we drew inspiration for a definition.
Again, to remind listeners:
- · Ghana’s Forestry Sector & Eco-Tourism on 29July, 2014
- · Africa’s Aviation sector on 19 August, 2014
- · Ghana’s Hotel Industry on 26 August, 2014
- · Afri-Tourism on 9 September, 2014
- The Hotel Industry in Ghana & Africa (2); and aChat with Miss Tourism 2013 on 30 September, 2014
The term “Afri-Tourism” has become entrenched in
AIF’s history on account of the first-ever High-Level Forum on Regional
Development in West Africa, which was sponsored by WACSI. At the forum, Kofi
Akpabli made a presentation entitled “Towards Afri-Tourism: Making Ghana a
viable Tourist Destination” in which he spoke of a kind of sub-regional
tourism. Akpabli further spoke of regional tourism blocs, wondering whether
West Africa is competing or actually complementing – as done in East Africa?
In a week in which the UN World Tourism
Organisation is in town for three days to discuss tourism and branding Africa,
we at AIF believe it is an opportune time to re-visit both tourism—as practiced
in Ghana and Africa—and “Afri-Tourism”.
To this end, we will be speaking to three tourism
practitioner-experts who are no strangers to the AIF Show.
Kofi
Akpabli; Professor Boakye; and Aisha Boakye-Yiadom are three familiar faces to
AIF who know their tourism inside out, and will help us navigate another
conversation on it from a sub-regional; national; and continental perspective.
Let’s
go Afri-touring!
Call us on the following numbers when
we open the phone lines at 14h30 GMT
+233(0)289.000.931 //
+233(0)289.931.000
Join us if you can at 1pm on 11 August, 2015.
Guiding questions
- · What is the objective of Sekalaga Tours?
- · What is level of youth engagement of Sekalaga Tours in promoting travel/tourism?
- · What was outcome of ST’s “All-White Party” held in March 2015
- · What has been TRAC’s major work since establishment in 2014?
- · How important is security & safety to advocacy of TRAC?
- · In TRAC’s opinion, how should governments better-protect tourism trade?
- · Ebola is not over, but being managed, so how does one continue to make Ghana a viable tourist destination?
- · What about sub-regional tourism that East Africa does very well?
- · Can Ghana still be considered a honeymoon destination in West Africa?
- · What has reception been to Akpabli’s “Romancing Ghanaland – the Beauty of 10 Regions” and “Harmattan: a Cultural Profile of Northern Ghana” since book-reading?
Guests in the studio:
Ø Asha Boakye-Yiadom, Sekalaga
Tourist Attraction & Educational Resource
Ø Juana Akuamoah-Boateng, Assistant
Producer, AIF ReComm
Guests on the line:
Ø Naa Lamiley Bentil, Senior
Staff Reporter, Daily Graphic, Ghana @13h10 to speak to us about the newly-established Network
on Forest Governance & Community Empowerment, and key outcomes of Civic
Response Media Workshop on Forest Governance held 12-14 August, 2015
Ø Mariam Chiazor Content
Editor, Afro Tourism (www.afrotourism.com)
@13h30 to speak to us about her company, and impressions of
the two-day “UN World Tourism Regional Conference
on Enhancing Branding Africa: Fostering Tourism Development” underway at
LaPalm Royal Beach Hotel
Ø Prof.Boakye, Executive Director, Tourism
Research Advocacy Centre(TRAC), Cape Coast University, Central Region, Ghana
@13h50 to brief us about the
state of Ghana’s tourism (potential), and what TRAC has been doing since
establishment in 2014
Ø Kofi Akpabli, CNN-award-winning tourism journalist; author
of 3 books on Tourism @14h20
Monday, August 10, 2015
COMING UP!>>Ep.50: A Review of West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN) Media Training
Episode #50:
A Review of West
Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN) Media Training
We want to use the 50th edition of the show to primarily review and assess the training journalists underwent on 5 August here in Accra.
Organised by the Ghana Chapter of the West Africa Drug Policy Network, the objective of the training was to educate the media to appreciate the complexities inherent in reporting drug policy issues.
Buried in the training is a desire to shift mindsets around how drug policy is reported from a law-enforcement perspective, where the drug-user is vilified and criminalised to the point where they are treated with a level of dignity.
That said, no paradigm-shifting will occur without an assessment of how journalists found the programme. It is for this reason we will speak to two journalists to share their views, and offer recommendations on the way forward for the Media to better-appreciate drug policy.
Call us on the following numbers when
we open the phone lines at 14h30 GMT
+233(0)289.000.931 //
+233(0)289.931.000
Join us if you can at 1pm on 11 August, 2015.
Guiding questions
- · What was rationale for training media on drug policy?
- · What did the journalists learn – if anything?
- · How do journalists assess the training programme? What recommendations do they have for improvement?
- · Why is the media important in conversations around drug policy?
- · What is the way forward for the workshop?
Guests in the studio:
Ø Hilda Mbong, Lawyer; Rapporteur; independent
observer
Ø Juana Akuamoa Boateng, Assistant
Producer, AIF Research & Communications Unit
Ø Maame Agyeiwaa, Chronicle
newspaper, Ghana
Guests on the line:
Ø Genevieve Dadzie, Programme
Officer, AAEA Secretariat, Electoral Commission, Ghana @13h15 to speak
to us about the 3rd Continental Election Management Bodies
Forum/General Assembly Meeting of the Association of African Election
Authorities, held 22-24 July, 2015
Ø Yaw Kwakye, Manager, Climate Change Unit,
Forestry Commission @13h30 to brief us about mini-retreat for journalists
organized by Forestry Commission in Koforidua, Eastern Region of Ghana from
5-6 August, 2015 on Communication messaging around Emissions-Reduction Programme/REDD+
Ø Jonas Nyabor, Radio
Univers 105.7FM/Ghanahealthnest.com @14h00
Thursday, August 6, 2015
VIDEO Clip: AIF Show's Interview of Facilitator Gilbert Atta-Boakye during Results-Based Management Workshop Training 27-31 July, 2015
The workshop covered discussion on a wide range of issues, including: Introduction to Results-Based Management Concepts and trends; understanding the general concepts of management approaches, specific indicators, development and use of results frameworks for Parliaments and results-Based Management and Parliamentary Results Chain.
The workshop was organized by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS), which is the foremost, effective and credible regional institution with counterpart funding from the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). In the last four years, it has remained committed to scaling up legislative capacity development and deepening institutional memory of West African legislature
Monday, August 3, 2015
ARTICLE: Disaster in Paradise? Looking beyond Bunso: Towards securing our tourism attractions
The greatest desire of any tourist/holiday maker is to have fun and
relaxation in a safe place away from home. To that end almost all tourism
destinations present themselves as idyllic places where the patron can feel
relaxed and safe. Thus the tourism
attraction would be the last place a person would expect to be exposed to harm
. That is why this week has been a
rather bad one for tourism. First it was
the deadly terrorist attack in Sousse, Tunisia, then, our own Bunso Canopy Walkway also gave way.
The first of them was a security issue while the incident in Ghana centred on
safety. Either way, they each have the potential to hurt the tourist trade in
their respective countries.
Research
has shown there is a very strong positive relationship between safety/security
and the fortunes of tourism. Tourism
literally thrives on safety and security.
For
example, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) indicates that international tourist arrivals in its
Middle East Region (including Egypt and Tunisia) declined by 8.4 percent to 54.8 million in
2011 – a year after the Arab
Spring. Yet, in 2010 the previous year, arrivals to the region had grown by nearly 15.
The effect is even more graphic when the figures for the two countries are
isolated from the rest. Experts generally believe that the 2010 revolts caused
at least a
30-40% decline in demand for the two
countries in subsequent years. In fact, in Tunisia, tourism arrivals dropped
by a third in 2011 and the associated financial losses can only be imagined. The
same can be said of the effect of the 9/11 attacks on the New York tourism
industry which was estimated to lose some 1-2 billion dollars in business in
associated economic activities.
An
even more ominous threat to global tourism
is that posed by terrorism. The stark reality is that a pattern is slowly taking shape in which
tourism facilities are increasingly becoming targets for terrorist attacks. Attacks from England, Bali, Indonesia, France,
Jordan, Egypt, Kenya, Peru, The Philippines, and Mexico and, more recently,
Tunisia have shown this trend. This year
alone Tunisia has witnessed two such horrific incidents, just three months apart from each other - one
at a museum and the more recent one at a
popular tourist beach.
It therefore goes without saying that
countries that wish to gain from tourism must consciously make efforts to
protect the trade. For a country that is
so heavily reliant on international visitors, Ghana cannot afford to be having
such avoidable safety oversights or
security breaches at its
attractions. It is against this backdrop
that we
should take what happened in Bunso as seriously as we can and also
institute structures that can avoid a terrorist attack on our tourism
facilities.
It
is good to read that the Ghana Tourism Authority is in the process of developing
a Legislative Instrument that will empower them to enforce safety and security at our attraction
sites.
This
is because in truth, Bunso is not the only unsafe and insecure
attraction in the country. In fact save
for a few arrangements for police presence on crowded days, our attraction
facilities hardly have any security cover.
Neither are there any strong safety measures that can protect patrons
from unintended harm.
Moving
forward the Ministry of Tourism as a policy formulator must initiate processes
towards the crafting of a tourism safety
and security policy. Such a
policy would definitely have to address pertinent questions such as: How safe should
our attractions/facilities ? What are the likely sources of harm/threat
(unintended or intentional)
·
What
warning systems can we put in place to
monitor and react to such threats?
·
Who
manages these systems and how will they be funded?
·
What
systems can we institute to ensure these facilities comply with prescribed safety measures?
·
Who
are the key stakeholders and what roles do they play?
·
How
often must equipment at attraction sites be maintained or changed?
·
What
is the carrying capacity of our tourist facilities, how are they determined and
who enforces adherence to them?
·
How
best can the tourism sector and the security apparatus collaborate to
provide safety/security (especially from
terrorism)
Bunso
must serve as the wake-up call for us as a destination to create security structures and systems for all tourism attractions in Ghana.
by
Prof.
Kwaku Boakye
The writer is
the Managing Researcher at the Tourism Research and
Advocacy Centre- a tourism think tank based in Cape Coast.
Email:
tourism.advocate@yahoo.com
PRESS RELEASE FROM GHANA's FORESTRY COMMISSION: "CLOSE SEASON 2015"
PRESS
RELEASE
“CLOSE
SEASON 2015”
Wildlife has been the source of our
heritage and livelihoods. It plays a very important role in the development of
a nation particularly Africa and Ghana for that matter. It features prominently
in festivals, the arts, drama, folklore and serves as totems. It also provides
animal protein in the diet of many people, ranging from insects through
reptiles to mammals. Additionally, access to bushmeat provides an important
safety net for most rural people in times of economic stress.
Wildlife also plays an important role in
Ghana’s tourism industry, and there is undoubtedly a great potential for future
development of ecotourism centered on the country’s national parks and
reserves.
Nevertheless, wildlife is being over hunted
and it is reaching a point where the dwindling number of animals is threatening
the food security of both rural and urban communities, survival of the species
and the integrity of Ghana as a signatory to international conventions. This
state of affairs has been mainly due to non- observance of the rules and
regulations governing hunting of wild animals coupled with inadequate support
from the law enforcement agencies to assure sustainable uses of wildlife.
One of the measures to regulate hunting and
ensure sustainable use of the resource is the institution of a CLOSE SEASON that begins from August 1st
to December 1st every year. This is the period where most wild
animals, particularly mammals, such as Duiker, Bush pig, Honey badger,
Pangolin, Porcupines and Royal antelope to mention but a few, are being
followed by their young . It is therefore, imperative that the animals are
given a respite from hunting to wean their young for a successful recruitment
into the next generation. Non-observance of the close season therefore,
undermines the very existence of wild animal populations and deprives Ghanaians
of a valuable resource for sustainable development. Only grasscutters are
exempt from the Close Season but license has to be obtained to hunt it.
It must, however, be emphasised that not
all the animals produce their young and wean them within the four months in
question. The gestation period for elephant for instance is 22 months, Bongo:
9.5 months, Red River Hog: 4-5 months, Yellow backed duiker, Black duiker (Forest
Duikers): 7-8 months, and Bush buck: 6-7 months. Therefore, to find a generic CLOSE SEASON for all animals is
impossible because that will mean a total ban on hunting the whole year round.
It is in this vein that by L.I.685 it is an offence for anybody to hunt, capture
or destroy any young animals or female animal accompanied by their young.
Our appeal therefore is that
all hunters, be they professional, trophy, leisure and dealers in the wildlife
enterprise to temporarily stop their activities during the close season and
also be circumspect during the open season.
What we look forward to from
the public is that people will not patronise the sale of all bushmeat, dead,
alive or smoked except for grasscutters so that hunters will find it
uneconomical to hunt these animals for the expected aim to be achieved.
We are again appealing to all Ghanaians especially,
the police to arrest and prosecute such offenders by notifying the nearest Wildlife Division and Forestry Commission
Offices or the Executive Director, Wildlife Division on Tel. 028-9109683/
028-9115499, Accra.
Signed
by:
Executive Director
Wildlife Division, Forestry Commission
For further information contact
Corporate Affairs & Media Relations
Unit
Forestry Commission
P.O Box 434, Ministries
Accra
0244-643780 / 0244-090974
Sunday, August 2, 2015
TOP 10 POPULAR POSTS FROM "AFRICA IN FOCUS SHOW" WEBSITE
Dear friends,
I believe this email finds you well. Allow me to wish you and yours a peaceful new month.
May all your endeavours come to pass!
On behalf of the AIF Research & Communications Unit, I am very happy to present you the top 10 posts from the AIF website on www.africainfocusradioshow.org.
The first most-popular download is that of Ep.39, in which we had the priviledge of an exclusive interview with Namibia's High Commissioner to Ghana H.E. Charles Josob who spoke to us about his country's achievements on renewable energy.
Still with Namibia, just in case it escaped your attention, Namibia will host the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Centre for the SADC countries.
We at AIF are barely surprised about this feat. Kudos, Namibia! This means Cape Verde joins Namibia to host the ECOWAS & SADC Centres respectively, with ECOWAS having pioneered this Centre of Excellence in 2010.
Still on ECOWAS, the second highest podcast in the top 10 is that of Ep.43, which I used to interview former ECOWAS official Frank Ofei about Ecowas' fortieth anniversary. We also examined the failure of this country to capitalise on awareness-raising of Ecowas' landmark celebration.
The interview was also especially noteworthy as it took place in the same week President John Mahama of Ghana passed the baton of Chairperson of ECOWAS to Macky Sall of Senegal at an ECOWAS Summit.
At the top spot on the website since September 2014, is AIF Research & Communications Unit's first-ever High-Level Forum on Regional Development in West Africa, which was supported by WACSI.
That it has remained number 1 since 2014 suggests an interest in a Forum of this kind taking place again.
Kindly find below the top 10 posts for your enjoyment!
We welcome feedback!
Kind regards,
Emmanuel
Emmanuel
1. First-ever High-Level Public Forum on Regional Development in West Africa -- 4-5 September, EASTGATE HOTEL, Accra
High-Level Public Forum on Regional Development in West Africa Introduction and Objectives The Research & Communications Unit o...
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2014/09/first-ever-high-level-public-forum-on.html?m=0
2. At Africa in Focus' First-ever Public Forum, Former ECOWAS Official Frank Ofei Speaks about Ecowas Common Currency
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2014/09/at-africa-in-focus-first-ever-public.html?m=0
3. PODCAST!>>Ep.39: Impact of Ghana's Power Crisis(1): Why Renewable Energy?
EPISODE #39 Research & Co-ordination: E.K.Bensah Jr Executive Producer: E.K.Bensah Jr Technical Producer: D.J. Stagger "Dear f...
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2015/04/podcastep39-impact-of-ghanas-power.html?m=0
4. Five-day Regional Workshop for Parliamentary Staff of Ghana; Gambia; Nigeria; & ECOWAS Opens in Accra
Gilbert Atta-Boakye, Facilitator Accra, Ghana – In an attempt to redefine work ethics across the sub-region, a five-day workshop to en...
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2015/07/five-day-regional-workshop-for.html?m=0
5. COMING UP!>>Episode #48: Mixed Bag: Updates on Financing for Development; Freedom of Information
Episode #48: Mixed Bag: Updates on Financing for Development (#Ffd3); Freedom of Information We want to use ep.48 to look at two...
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2015/07/coming-upepisode-48-mixed-bag-updates.html?m=0
6. COMING UP!>>Ep.39: Impact of Ghana's Power Crisis(1): Why Renewable Energy?
Episode #39: Impact of Power Crisis (1): Why Renewable Energy, and Options for Financing? That we have a power crisis i...
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2015/04/coming-upep38-impact-of-power-crisis1.html?m=0
7. AFRICA IN FOCUS >> Coming up on 9 September, 2014: Afri-Tourism!
Since 29 July, AIF has navigated the waters of a topic that merits more discussion on the Ghanaian media landscape – that of Tourism. We wi...
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2014/09/africa-in-focus-coming-up-on-9.html?m=0
8. COMING UP!!>>Ep.49: Mixed Bag#2: Outcome of Third Financing for Development Conference; AU Youth Impact Africa Awards
Episode #49: Mixed Bag#2: Outcome of Third Financing for Development Conference; AU Youth Impact Africa Awards We want to use ep....
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2015/07/coming-upep49-mixed-bag2-outcome-of.html?m=0
9. COMING UP!>>Ep.34: Towards a more Equitable Gender Participation in Peace & Security with UNSCR1325
34th Edition: Towards a more Equitable Gender Participation in Peace & Security with UNSCR1325 This year, the AU is payin...
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2015/03/coming-upep34-towards-more-equitable.html?m=0
10. PODCAST:>>Ep.43: SPECIAL: Talking Points around #ECOWAS@40(4): One-on-one with former ECOWAS Official Frank Ofei
http://africainfocusonradioxyz.blogspot.com/2015/07/podcastep43-special-talking-points.html?m=0
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"explaining; unpacking; demystifying ECOWAS; AU; South-South policies!": Africa in Focus Show on Radio XYZ93.1FM
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