By Precious D. Freeman
UN Women, with backing from the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) through its Youth Promotion Initiative (YPI) project, has successfully concluded a three-day intensive training on leveraging digital tools for advocacy and peace building.
The event that ended over the weekend in Monrovia and brought together 26 participants from various youth and women-led organizations in Montserrado and Lofa Counties with the purpose of enhancing their digital skills for advocacy and peace building.
The Program Specialist for Women, Peace, and Security at UN Women, Gharmah Karloweah, highlighted that the workshop was part of a broader two-year YPI project implemented by UN Women, UNFPA, and UN OHCHR and explained that the training also served as a “training of trainers” (TOT) session.
Karloweah emphasized that the trained representatives are expected to disseminate the knowledge and tools acquired to their organizations and networks and explained that the training covered topics such as campaign design, advocating for greater political participation for women and individuals with disabilities, and addressing drug-related issues.
“Over the next two years, starting in 2024, UN Women, in collaboration with UNFPA and OHCHR, will continue the project ‘Accelerating Digital Opportunities for Youth Civic Participation as a Lever for Building and Sustaining Peace in Liberia,’ supported by the Peace building Fund,” Karloweah said.
Participants were provided with digital equipment, including computers, laptops, smartphones, and projectors, to support their efforts.
The Deputy Secretary for Gender and Women Development, Evangeline D. Sirleaf, commended the training’s impact and noted that the shift towards digital advocacy is crucial as traditional methods, like using placards, become less effective.
“We are advancing into a digital world where social media and other platforms are essential for advocacy. This training equips us to craft and deliver our messages more effectively,” Sirleaf said.
