Kofi Ampeah Woode
The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) has commenced a Training of Trainers (ToT) series on Standardized Gender Training Manual for Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Training Schools, as part of a bilateral partnership between Canada and GAF, to be implemented by KAIPTC, under the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Support Operations (PSO).
The official opening ceremony for the specialized ToT Course for Instructors of GAF, which is focused on training for effective use of the comprehensive GAF Gender Manuals that have been developed, was held at the Games Room of the KAIPTC, Teshie, Accra, on 7 October 2024, with the Commandant, KAIPTC – Major General (Maj Gen) Richard Addo Gyane as Guest of Honour.
In a speech, General Gyane said GAF participated in the Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations (MOWIP) from September 2019 – February 2020, out of which a report revealed three barriers which limit GAF uniformed-women’s meaningful participation in United Nations (UN) peace operations.
Putting in place considerable strategic measures to address the gaps identified by the MOWIP Report, gave birth to a project dubbed “Enhancing Ghana Armed Forces Capabilities to Address Barriers to Women in Peacekeeping”, the Commandant said.
He said one of the deliverables of the on-going Elsie Initiative Project, is to develop standardised gender-sensitive training manual for all levels of training, including the Recruit Training Schools, Military Academy, Basic Non-Commissioned Officers and Young Officers’ Courses, as well as Sergeant Majors’ Course for Senior Staff College.
In line with this, he continued, two consultative meetings were held at the KAIPTC with stakeholders from GAF training schools, to make key decisions and define a road-map for the development of standardised gender-sensitive training manual for GAF’s training schools.
Additionally, he stated, both meetings presented a common platform where participants deliberated on the roles and expectations of personnel and their gendered training needs, which informed the design of this appropriate gender training manual for GAF training schools.
He said the training packages were developed and validated in September, 2023 at the KAIPTC, with pilot training at different levels conducted, which provided an opportunity to test the contents of the manual, and to receive feedback from participants, that fed into the final manual.
Maj Gen RA Gyane said, with approval from the High Command of GAF, a total of sixty (60) Training Instructors and Gender Advisors selected across the various training schools, will be trained to effectively use the manual in their various schools.
Integrating gender perspective into GAF training schools, would give opportunity to new recruits to learn and appreciate the concepts of gender, as they join GAF and rise through the ranks to where critical gender decisions are made, to ensure inclusivity, and promote Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in GAF, he said.
The Gender Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff of GAF – Group Captain (Gp Capt) Theodora Agornyo stated that the importance of gender history in military operations cannot be over-emphasized, for which reason GAF has been working to make significant progress in Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, hence its adoption of the policy of equal opportunities for all.
She also revealed that an Online Gender Training for Advisors and Focal Persons in GAF is scheduled to roll out by 21 October 2024, as she acknowledged the Global Advice Canada, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Initiative, the Canadian High Commission in Ghana, the Canadian Armed Forces, Ghana Military Police, and all who have worked to support GAF’s Gender Mainstreaming projects.
Madam Bertha Desmennu – Senior Liaison Officer, High Commission of Canada, Ghana, said Canada supports Ghana – a world major peacekeeping troop contributing country (TCC) – in increasing its capacity for recruiting, training and deploying women to UN peace operations, and having a diverse gender-responsive peacekeeping force that models gender equality, which increases operational effectiveness, prospecting for peace.
She said having women as part of peacekeeping contingents helps in building trust with local communities, and enhances access to information that can be crucial for protecting civilians and peacekeepers alike, since women, men, boys and girls are affected differently by conflict and insecurity.
She continued that recognizing that men and women contribute to peace operations in different, complementary ways, is why Canada launched the Elsie Initiative in 2018, and why GAF, after launching its first-ever Gender Policy Framework in 2024, working through KAIPTC, is working at mainstreaming gender, increasing women’s recruitment, to deploy them in larger numbers to UN peace operations.
She added that GAF has also been able to raise awareness about gender in all its garrisons, furnished the offices of Gender Advisors and Focal Persons, established a database to track peacekeeping deployments, and developed a comprehensive Gender Training Manual.
Gender mainstreaming and inclusivity of women in organizations more are long and arduous tasks, which start with training and ensuring that every member of the organization understands why and how to do it, and Trainers deemed as key to that organizational change, Madam Desmennu concluded.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
