A three-day capacity building programme for 30 young women to enhance their skills in advocacy, lobbying and public engagement has ended in Accra.

The programme, part of a two year project dubbed “The Nuisance Project-Young women speak peace to power” and funded by STAR-Ghana is to provide a platform for young women to employ advocacy and public action to increase accountability and responsiveness of key stakeholders for maintaining peace before, during and after the 2012 elections.

Ms Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, Executive Director of Ark Foundation- Ghana, told the Ghana News Agency on Friday that, the project was to get leaders across the country to commit to the importance of individual and collective action in maintaining peace and security in the forthcoming elections.

She said it was also to bring to the fore the role of women in preventing electoral violence and enhance peace in the society and to sensitise the public on the dangers of conflict to women and particularly children and other vulnerable groups in the society.

Ms Dwamena-Aboagye explained that the project covers the whole nation but would start from the Ga West and Accra Central all in the Greater Accra Region, East Akim Municipality and New Juaben Municipality in the Eastern Region and Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

Hajia Hawawu Boya Gariba, Deputy Minister of Women and Children Affairs, said the call for peace at this time was crucial considering the political tension and confusion going on in other countries.

She said women irrespective of their age play an important role in maintaining peace in the nation saying “I believe that without a woman’s involvement, efforts at maintaining peace will be fruitless, as women are usually the ones who come up with solutions that reduce conflict”.

Hajia Boya Gariba said, for young women to be able to effectively play the role in maintaining peace, they needed to be supported as builders of peace and democracy.

“Their potentials have to be developed in order to sustain a process of change, while accessing training opportunities in conflict transformation, mediation, negotiation among others to prepare them to maintain peace”.**