The Ghana Philanthropy Conference (GPC) 2024 has called on Ghanaians to prioritise volunteerism as a civic duty to harness the power of volunteerism for national development.
GPC which brought together representatives from civil society, government, and private sector aims to inspire collective action and commitment to volunteerism among Ghanaians.
The conference stressed the need for promoting volunteerism as a civic responsibility, leveraging technology to facilitate volunteerism, and empowering youth volunteers.
The Participants highlighted the need to foster a culture of trust and accountability in philanthropic and volunteerism activities.
GPC also called on the government to develop a national strategy and policy on volunteerism, formalize volunteerism in the educational system, and pass the Not-for-Profit Organisations Bill.
This, they believe will promote volunteerism as a civic action which is crucial for driving social change and development in Ghana.
“We reviewed the current state of volunteerism in Ghana, discussed its contributions to inclusive development and shared experiences on good practices. We discussed that volunteerism plays a critical role in contributing to community development, social justice and nation building. We also see that volunteerism can be catalyst for mobilization of citizens, strengthening civic awareness and engagement and enabling actions at the lowest levels of governance on specific issues.”
“We ACKNOWLEDGE that for volunteerism to thrive in Ghana, it needs collective efforts and push from individual citizens, institutions and the state. As volunteers and volunteer support organizations, we commit to: Promote Volunteerism through: Communication, education and stakeholder engagements to project volunteerism as civic responsibility and a catalyst for nation building. Leverage technology to facilitate volunteerism by utilizing platforms such as LinkedIn, gogivetime.org to connect volunteers with clearly defined roles and tasks.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm online.con.gh/Starr103.5/Hamdeeya Mohammed
