The Astrient Foundation - Forum Topics

Ghana's Presidential and Parliamentary Elections

6 Dec 2008 17:31:04 GMT

Tomorrow, Sunday, 7th December, 2008, Ghanaians will go to the polls to pick their next president and members of parliament. There is a very extensive campaign going on to ensure this is a peaceful event. Do you think Ghana's democracy has grown enough for a completely violence free election?

Revamping an Educational System 101

19 Dec 2008 17:58:28 GMT

How do you improve the Ghanaian educational system? In times past, I would have had an easy answer for this. Train teachers better, get textbooks in the schools etc would have come off the top of my head, probably. But is it really that simple? After doing community service, traveling the country more than before and actually starting to think about the issues in more than superficial terms, I realize that it's definitely not. And in case you don't think the educational system is that bad, think again. It's almost impossible to get reliable data that actually means anything on how bad the situation is, but if an overwhelming majority of citizens are unable to make anything meaningful out of their lives with the education they are getting and rather equips them with a ludicrous dependence/obsession with government and its whims, I am positive there is something VERY VERY wrong. Even for the VERY few who are getting a semblance of a "good" education, is it really? Education that has no relevance to the society and does not in any way encourage citizens to think through and generate practical solutions for themselves and others is really a waste of resources to me. Do check out Paolo Friere's thoughts on this subject:

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-freir.htm

He was a 20th century Brazilian educator and theorist who had some interesting ideas about education. I agree with what he says to a large extent.

What are your thoughts?

CHILD ABUSE

9 Dec 2008 15:19:01 GMT

Child abuse is on the increase in Ghana. This to the extent that, it is doing more good than harm. Most of Ghanaian children under the age of sixteen(16) are being deprived one of their fundamental rights. Their fundamental rights as in getting access to basic education.They are instead, forced to do odd jobs such as selling on the streets and are nomarlly not catered properly for.This therefore leads to illiteracy. Illiteracy breeds bad people in most communities.
My perspective is to help wipe away child abuse in our society.

ANTI HUMAN TRAFFICKING BOARD AND FUND LAUNCHED

29 Oct 2008 15:43:50 GMT

The government of the Republic of Ghana has launched the long a waited Anti human trafficking fund.The fund seeks to support the efforts of law enforcement agencies and civil society in the fight against Human trafficking in the country. Present at the launch were the vice President of the Republic of Ghana and the Minister for Women and Children's Affairs,The vice President said the issue of human trrafficking is a problem for the country and across the sub-region and the world, and every one should rally behind the efforts of the government and civil society to fight against this canker.He promised to put in a request next year for an increament in the budgetary allocation for the fund.One hundred thousand cedis( about $92,000.00 ) was set aside by government towards the establishment of the fund

VOTE FOR A PEACEFUL ELECTION IN GHANA

8 Nov 2008 13:31:01 GMT

As Ghanaians prepare to go to the polls in December, 2008, I add my voice to the call for peace before, during and after the elections. We can send a very clear message to the world that we have fully embraced democracy both as a polical system and as a way of life. We need peace to advance our beloved nation to 1st world status in our lifetime. TOGETHER, WE CAN!

I shall not allow myself to be used by any selfish politician to disrupt the peace we enjoy today. I urge you to do the same.

Please add your vote and increment the count.

Vote # 1: SAMUEL BOATENG ASUMADU

ELECTION IN GHANA FINDS ITSELF IN ANOTHER DIMENSION

11 Dec 2008 15:19:46 GMT

The elctoral commissioner yesterday announced of a second round of Ghanaians going to the polls. This is mainly going to be between the ruling party and its main contendant NDC. I see this to be a little bit going to be tensed. But all the expectation outcome should be peace. Peace should prevail and nothing else.
Peace means unity and unity means togetherness so does it also means healthy economy to promote a healthy Ghana.

LIFE

15 Dec 2008 12:32:08 GMT

There are different ways people define life but for, LIFE IS CLASSROOM WHERE WE LEARN SO MANY THINGS TO ENHANCE OURSELF. In a classroom we go through different experiences such as success, failure, relationships with others and many more. there is sadness, The question
is DO WE REALLY LEARN FROM THESE EXPERIENCES? If the answer is yes, it means we are moving from one stage to the other. If it's no, it means we have to examine ourselves properly to find the reason,solutions to it and to make sure they are applied properly in order to move forward.
Finally I have a question you. What makes your life important to you?

THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING UNIT

4 Dec 2008 15:45:12 GMT

The Human Trafficking Unit was at first a desk at Interpol 4 years ago, but was upgraded to a full unit in March 2008. The aim of this unit is to combat human trafficking both internally and internationally.
The unit is made up of the Head of unit, Station Officer, Secretary and the Team of investigators. The following functions are performed by the unit:
1) They have been mandated to investigate issues of this nature.
2) To arrest people who go contrary to the law or act.
3)Protect both citizens and victims.
4)Educate people on the laws, acts and issues of human trafficking.
5) Collaborate with stake holders such as IOM,MOWAC,UNICEF,NGOs,Social welfare and other law enforcement agencies.
Since its establishment, the unit has achieved a lot. Stay tune for more becausa this is just the beginning.

E-ZWICH, The New Wave of Electronic Banking in Ghana

3 Oct 2008 22:14:24 GMT

With the introduction of the E-ZWICH in Ghana in the first half of 2008 AD, there has been a lot of excitement in the country about the potential and benefits of this elctronic banking solution. I have received my E-ZWICH smart card and successfully done several transactions with it. Have you? As a consumer, what do you think about the project? Is the project worth it? Is it going to really benefit you in any way? What are the flaws of the syatem? Do you personally believe it will work or fail, and why?

As an entrepreneur what can you do to promote electronic business in Ghana, perhaps through the E-ZWICH? Let's get talking.

The Economist: Computing and software: Gadgets: Thinking inside the box

5 Dec 2008 21:29:14 GMT

Click here to view complete article

There is more to portable electronic gadgets than just fancy hardware

ELECTRONIC gadgets have changed a great deal in the past few years. Most obviously, they have become smaller, sleeker, smarter and more versatile. Billions of people now carry around tiny devices that are more powerful than the desktop computers of a few years ago. But these gadgets have also changed in a less obvious way. Once they were lumps of hardware, brought to life by a layer of software; today, they might be more accurately described as services in a box.

It was ever thus with mobile phones, of course: the handset is useless without a network operator, and mobile phones are, in effect, the containers in which operators sell their services. But the handset and the network service have hitherto come from different companies. Operators do not manufacture their own phones, and handset-makers are not operators. ...