Communications and Marketing

Alumni Seminar in Ghana: Advancing Social Protection in West Africa

Master Social Protection Alumni Konferenz 2024 Ghana Empfang Deutsche Botschaft

Monday 29 July 2024

Smart solutions towards an inclusive society developed by H-BRS Alumni

The five-day alumni seminar of the Master's degree programme “Social Protection” at H-BRS was opened in style on Monday, 29 July 2024, with a reception at the German Embassy in Accra, Ghana. Until Friday, international alumni and experts from H-BRS and the University of Cape Coast in Ghana will be exchanging ideas with each other, with national ministries, agencies and students from the partner university as well as UN organizations and NGOs.

Day 1: The German Ambassador Daniel Krull and representatives of the University of Cape Coast warmly welcomed the group of almost 30 alumni and staff members to the embassy garden and to Ghana. The head of the DAAD regional office, Lena Leumer, was pleased that DAAD funding brought life to the conference and emphasized the importance of the knowledge and cultural exchange between Ghana and Germany.

Professor Masauso Chirwa (H-BRS) as the head of the delegation thanked the German Ambassador Daniel Krull for the great reception and was pleased about the numerous other guests from ministries and organizations. He encouraged the participants to network and exchange ideas on how to advance social protection during the reception and throughout the entire seminar.

Gruppenbild UNICEF2

Day 2: The group was welcomed by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in Accra and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) office as well as the National Council on the Persons with Disability (NCPD). In the afternoon, they made their way to Cape Coast and met with UCC staff and representatives from the Center for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation. The University of Cape Coast (UCC) and H-BRS have maintained an intensive partnership for many years, resulting in student and staff exchange. Together with Finance Professor Daniel Agyapong and UCC students, the group will embark on an intensive programme with numerous keynote speeches, panel discussions and topical excursions, most of which will be contributed by the participating alumni.

Masauso Chirwa, Getrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Alradi Abdallah

Day 3: The third day started with an engaging keynote speach on challenges and opportunities of inclusive social protection in West Africa by Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, chair of the United Nationas Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), followed by a panel discussions with alumni, Robert Osei-Tutu from UNICEF Ghana, Friederike Römer from Handicap International and Shishembewe Mwale from the Zambian government. A second panel of alumni and Beatrice Mahmood from Sightsaver Ghana explored the demands of organisations of and for persons with disabilities. To conclude the day, Dr. Daniel Mont from the Center of Inclusive Policy provided insights into approaches for measuring disability-related extra costs.

Developing a strategy paper for national Governments

Teilnehmende der Alumni-Konferenz Social Protection Ghana Juli, August 2024

Day 4: The following day, alumni shared successful approaches to disability inclusion from around the globe. Afterwards, students engaged in sophisticated group work for discussing pathways to reform inclusive social protection.
One of the main objectives of the seminar is to develop a strategy paper to advise governments on key steps to take in order to achieve greater inclusivity and empowerment of persons with disabilities on four key areas of disability inclusion: (1) Effective and legal coverage, (2) Disability inclusive employment and education, (3) Financing and adequacy of Social Protection Schemes for Persons with Disabilities, and (4) Community-based solutions. As a special reward for this intellectually demanding work, the alumni group explored the Kakum National Park and the Cape Coast slavery castle, educating themselves on the history and environment of Ghana.