The Upper West Region of Ghana has long been characterized by strong communal ties, interfaith coexistence, and relative peace. However, evolving security dynamics along the Atlantic Corridor and Ghana’s proximity to the Sahelian belt have increased the risk of spillover effects related to violent extremism (VE), radicalization, and organized crime.
These risks are exacerbated by the growing prevalence of hate speech, misinformation, inflammatory rumors and divisive narratives, often spread through informal networks, social media, and community radio platforms.
In Sissala East Municipality and Sissala West District, socio-economic vulnerabilities particularly among youth and women create fertile ground for the manipulation of grievances and the spread of extremist or violent narratives.
The Upper West Regional Peace Council (UWRPC), as part of its mandate to promote peace, social cohesion, and conflict prevention, organized a series of one-day community outreach and durbar at Kupulima and Puzene communities in the Sissala West District under the theme: “Promoting Peaceful Coexistence: Countering Hate Speech and Building Positive Narratives.”
These activities were conducted under the “Preventing and Responding to Violent Extremism in the Atlantic Corridor” dubbed the Atlantic Corridor Project with funding support from the Governments of Norway and Denmark through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
The activities which took place on the 13th and 14th of May, 2026 at Kupulima R/C Basic School and Chief Palace for Puzene Community respectively, aimed at creating awareness on the harmful effects of hate speech, misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information while promoting peaceful dialogue, tolerance, responsible communication, and positive community narratives.
The outreach brought together traditional authorities, women groups, youth groups, opinion leaders, religious leaders, assembly members, and other community stakeholders to discuss practical ways of promoting positive narratives and preventing conflict within their communities.
The activities highlighted the strength in promoting community-based alternative and counter-narratives messaging particularly in preventing hate speech, violence, and violent extremism in selected communities of Sissala Sissala West District.
The Regional Executive Secretary catalogued key objectives of the outreach programme including :
- Raising awareness on hate speech and its effects on peace and social cohesion.
- Educating community members on misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information.
- Promoting responsible communication and peaceful dialogue.
- Encouraging community members to verify information before sharing.
- Strengthening collaboration among community stakeholders in promoting peaceful coexistence.
- Promoting positive narratives and mutual respect among different groups in the communities.
The Senior Programs Manager explained that, the implementation of the activities has always been a laudable idea that has helped in promoting social cohesion. However, he mentioned that, during the implementation the Upper West Regional Peace Council encountered some challenges. These challenges according to him were; limited time for extensive community interactions, Difficulty in addressing all community concerns within the available period, inadequate access to reliable information sources among some community members, Limited resources for wider community coverage and follow-up activities.
The Community Outreach Against Hate Speech and Promoting Positive Narrative targeted Kupulima and Puzene communities which share direct boundaries with neighbouring Burkina Faso in the Sissala West District.
Source: Gwollu FM 91.7MHz
