BACKGROUND
The importance of health in the achievement of good education outcomes is as important as it is necessary. Safe spaces are essential for helping adolescents and young people in school access quality information and essential services they need to live a healthy life. For some, safe spaces are available, to some extent, in school; for others, they may be available elsewhere. But for most in-school youth, however, safe spaces will never exist, given the socio-economic disparities that exist in the country. Meanwhile, the concept of safe spaces is new, and the school system is yet to embrace it fully. While a few schools may have counseling and other healthcare related facilities in place, there are questions as to how adequately these facilities address widespread problems like stigma, discrimination, reliability and confidentiality, which are all factors that affect young people’s access to quality healthcare information and tells a lot about how enabling the school environment is for the practice of healthy behaviors, especially as related to Sexual and Reproductive Health. Evidence from a quick survey among head teachers in Uganda indicate very low awareness levels of head teachers on issues related to Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health.
In 2015, the Uganda Office of Advocate For Youth, with technical support from UNESCO,UNAIDS , the Ministry of Education and Sports and the School Health Division of the Ministry of Health, carefully designed and premiered the annual Executive Seminar Series. All partners agreed that a more frantic effort to involve head teachers is likely to lead to better results for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights as the head teachers are key in the creation of an enabling environment for the practice of safe and healthy behaviour at the school level. Despite many efforts towards improving the indicators around Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, progress is still very low and presents a very worrying trend. In the face of this, head teachers constitute a great resource that is yet to be fully tapped for this purpose.
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This innovative intervention was pioneered in 2015 in Uganda and the previous 4 editions have cumulatively empowered over 3,500 head teachers in that country on different themes every year. This is in line with the Education 2030 agenda as declared by the Incheon Declaration, which suggests that a synergy between Sustainable Development Goals 3(Health), 4(education) and 5(Gender Equality) is necessary to promote quality lifelong learning opportunities and ensure that these opportunities, and the benefits thereof, are passed on to future generations. This declaration also recognizes that "the challenge for educators, policy makers and all stakeholders“ is how to put the 2030 vision into action, given the acknowledged difficulties of working across and between sectors at local, national and international levels”. Like the Executive Seminar Series, the Executive Workshop Series in Ghana has been designed to address this challenge and ensure that participants are made aware of the important roles they need to play in ensuring that the school environment is conducive for promoting safe SRHR practices, including gender equality.
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With our rich experience from the Uganda program, we have designed the Executive Workshop Series For Head Teachers, Proprietors and PTA Chair Persons Of Private Senior High Schools In Ghana
This workshop series has been carefully designed to equip participants with the requisite knowledge they need to be able to make an impact by playing their roles adequately and creating the enabling environment at the school level to empower the adolescents and young people under their care to have a greater control over the processes that lead to the improvement of their reproductive health and general wellbeing.
Theme
Stemming the Tide of increasing HIV, Unintended Pregnancies and School Dropout Rates among In-School Adolescents
Expected Outcomes At the end of the workshop, participants are expected to:
1. Improve their knowledge on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
2. Have a clearer picture of their roles in national efforts to improve Sexual and Reproductive Health among in-school adolescents and young people
3. Have the opportunity to interact with government authorities responsible for working with them to improve adolescent and youth SRHR
4. Get access to printed materials and other (including online) resources for further reference
5. Be part of a network of empowered school authorities and proprietors in Ghana
6. Have the opportunity to subscribe for the National High School Magazine
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Who should attend?
• Head Masters / Head Mistresses
• Directors / Proprietors / Proprietresses of private senior high schools in Ghana
• Chair Persons of Parent Teacher Associations
The Executive Workshop series has been segmented into two batches . The first batch will
be held for eligible participants for eleven regions namely, Greater Accra region, Ashanti
region, Bono region, Ahafo region, Central region, Western region, Upper East region, Upper West region, Eastern region, Volta region and Oti region. Each region has a
different date and venue for the workshop. Eligible participant should therefore take note
of the different dates and register accordingly. Registration is exclusively online.
For enquiries please click the Number to call 0507776712
email c-asare@advocate4youth.org
KEY DATES TO NOTE FOR THE FIRST PATICIPANTS
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CENTRAL AND WESTERN REGION
Registration for eligible participants from Central and Western region starts on 15/07/2023 and ends on the 31/08/2023. Workshop dates is on 18/09/2023. Venue: Sasakawa guest house, UCC campus. Eligible participants should
click here to register
GREATER ACCRA AND EASTERN REGION
Registration for eligible participants from Greater-Accra and Eastern region starts on 15/07/2023 and ends on the 31/08/2023. Workshop dates is on 21/09/2023. Venue: Accra, but specific venue will be announced soon . Eligible participants should
click here to register
ASHANTI,BONO AND AHAFO REGION
Registration for eligible participants from Ashanti,Bono and Ahafo region starts on 15/07/2023 and ends on the 31/08/2023. Workshop dates is on the 25/09/2023. Venue: Kumasi, but specific venue will be announced soon Eligible participants should
click here to register
NORTHERN,UPPER EAST AND UPPER WEST REGION
Registration for eligible participants from Northern,Upper East and Upper West region starts on the 15/07/2023 and ends on the 31/08/2023. Workshop date is on the 28/09/2023. Venue: Temale , but specific venue will be announced soon. Eligible participants should
click here to register
VOLTA AND OTI REGION
Registration for eligible participants from Volta and Oti region starts on 15/07/2023 and ends on the 31/08/2023. Workshop dates is on the 2/09/2023. Venue: Ho, but specific venue will be announced soon. Eligible participants should
click here to register
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