Kwami Ahiabenu,II Knowledge Chief

Kwami R. Ahiabenu Selected publications and conferences  2020: Do Manifesto Matter : A study into how political parties use manifestos as an anti-corruption tool in Ghana (Penplusbytes) 2018: “Is International Media Reporting Holding Back Africa? Analyzing the problems with the coverage of Africa and proposing some solutions (Ford Foundation)  2018: “Media Perspectives on Fake News in Ghana” (Penplusbytes) 2018 : “Public sector ICT deployment in Ghana – a case study of National Information Technology Agency "Paper submitted to 10th International Applied Research Conference, ( Koforidua Technical University,Ghana) 2018: Defining Internet Universality Indicators: a Step Towards Internet Development and Policy World Press Freedom Ghana (2-3 May 2018, UNESCO) 2017: Creating Markets and Livelihoods Doing What you Love to Do! Making Media a Pathway to EmploymentCanada-IFC Africa Program Youth VideographyInitiative Training Program (24th August 2017, Accra-Ghana) Facilitated a Session. 2

Key stakeholders in the December 2020 Presidential and  Parliament ary Elections have been urged to take extra precautions to ensure a peaceful election. “Some incidents that occurred during the voters’ registration exercise tell us that although we are currently having the  COVID-19  pandemic, pockets of violence could easily spring up during the general elections,” Mr Kwesi Jonah, stated in Accra on Thursday. Mr Jonah, who is a Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at a training workshop for political parties, on the use of the Virtual Public Space or Social Media, for the 2020 Elections. He noted that now more than ever, social media played a crucial role in national peace-building, especially during a major election. Mr Jonah noted that with the tendency for fake news, information with a high tendency to create chaos and false propaganda would increase during elections. He said there was the need for

Africa's tech pioneers play catch up By Briony Hale  BBC News Online business reporter, Accra, Ghana Can IT overcome Africa's old economy problems? Sub-Saharan Africa is a non-entity for many of those at the cutting edge of Western technology. But Africa is intent on bridging the digital divide. In the first of a new series, BBC News Online visits a technology fair in Ghana. Aitec - West Africa's version of the world's largest computer fair, Cebit - embraces the whole spectrum of technology firms. Potential clients heading for a more detailed examination of VSAT satellite communication links are stopped by enthusiastic salesmen offering personal computers on three-year hire purchase schemes. A Nigerian firm offering casing for hardware finds itself next to multinational electronics giant Siemens, which is installing fibre optic links for the government. British techies extolling the benefits of banking via mobile phones are rubbing shoulders with Ghanaians offering soun

Mr Kwami Ahiabenu II, a  Technology Innovation Experts has postulated that in the era of global COVID-19 pandemic, the new digital technologies are now indispensable for the conduct of Election 2020.  "Ghanaian politicians desirous of reaching out to the electorate with their campaign messages must turn to the use of technology in order to reach out to voters.  Today COVID-19 has raised the issue of Public health and the need to follow preventive restriction.  "Limiting face-to-face contact plus the need for adhering to physical distancing means face to face interactions are being replaced with virtual opportunities – Virtual Campaigns," Mr Ahiabenu stated at a public political education forum in Accra.  The Public Education Platform: webinar was on the theme: "Using the Virtual Public Space for the 2020 Elections Campaign," was created by the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) to discuss the usage of the virtual space for campaign.  The main objective

The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) has announced its decision to organize a webinar to promote what it terms as “responsible virtual election campaigning”. The event themed “Using the Virtual Public Space for the 2020 Elections Campaign” will be held on July 18, 2020. This, according to them, is as part of plans to contribute its quota towards achieving peaceful elections with credible outcomes in the face of restrictions brought about by COVID-19. According to IDEG, virtual mediums such as radio, TV, webinars, and social media, although very powerful and important for the upcoming elections have some inhibitions which if not addressed could pose a threat to the country’s peace and stability. The Democratic Governance institute also registered its displeasure about the fact that technology is used to promote impunity and undermine the integrity of parliamentary and presidential elections. “The influx of commercial radio and television stations in the country coupled with th

DEG Webinar on   Using the Virtual Public Space for the 2020 Elections Campaign: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward Watch session on YouTube at 

Like other countries Ghana has been adversely affected by COVID 19. The country recorded its first case on 13th March 2020 and since then cases have been on the increase, surpassing 17,000 as at 29th June 2020. More distressing is the fact there is no vaccine for the virus and it is expected to take over a year for some to be produced. This makes a very complicated case and the health of the population has to be prioritized and protected. The government has subsequently imposed limited restrictions on all forms of public gathering. Meanwhile Ghana’s eighth presidential and parliamentary elections is scheduled to take place in December 2020, about five months away. Under the current COVID-19 conditions, it is likely that campaigning through large political rallies will shift to campaigning through the use of virtual media; radio, TV, webinars, and social media. Political parties and election candidates will now rely extensively on electronic media; both traditional and social media

You are invited to the  following  Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG)   event: Theme:  Using the Virtual Public Space for the 2020 Electioneering Campaign When:   Wednesday, 8 th  July 2020 from 10:00am - 12:00pm (GMT) Where:    Please click  here  to register! (The link for the virtual forum will be shared prior to the meeting) Background Like other countries, Ghana has been adversely affected by COVID 19. The country recorded its first case on 13th March 2020 and since then cases have been on the increase, surpassing 17,000 as at 29th June 2020. More distressing is the fact that there is no vaccine for the virus, and it is expected to take over a year for some to be produced. This makes a very complicated case and the health of the population has to be prioritized and protected. The government has subsequently imposed limited restrictions on all forms of public gathering. Meanwhile Ghana’s eighth presidential and parliamentary elections is scheduled to tak

Join us for Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) event:  https://bit.ly/3eNIJW2 Using the Virtual Public Space for the 2020 Electioneering Campaign When: Wed 8th July 2020 @10:00am (GMT) Register now

Digital communications are now indispensable. For a lot of organisations, the use of digital communication is key to achieving work effectiveness and efficiency. Date: Apr 16 , 2020 , 12:24 Every day, millions of digital communications get transmitted per second through online, social media and messaging platforms globally.  These communications come in the form of E-mails, text messages, video calls, file transmissions and online storage.  Some of these messages are rudimentary day-to-day ones which do not need to be transmitted securely; however, some digital communications by government end-users, corporate bodies, non-profits and security agencies, need to be transmitted using an appropriate secured option.  For instance, transactions by credit cards to make purchases online, necessitates the transmission of sensitive information, therefore, information on transactions must be transmitted securely. Similarly, online banking, filling out online applications such as passport applicat

By Kwami Ahiabenu,II Information is power. Controlling information or weaponising information represents a key mechanism to leverage this power. Weaponised information can be described as messages, data or content that is deliberately created to affect a recipient’s perception about an issue, a thing or a person in a manner which may lead to behaviour change, provocation or influence the recipient in sinister ways. It is important to note, in weaponisation of information, the information could be true or false. The underlying requirement is for it to have been consciously created with the intention of achieving a tactical or strategic goal once it is assimilated by the recipient. Although weaponisation of information is more of a cognitive process, its main vehicle in today’s information world is through digital technologies. Weaponisation of information does not take place within the scope of day to day information exchanges since it is anchored firmly on complex

Date: Feb 06 , 2020 , 06:26 BY: Kwami Ahiabenu Across the world, almost all Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) are utilising technology in order to ensure they can conduct better elections, using a number of election-related software and hardware. With the development of technology, there are now systems to cover the whole continuum from voter register to a full integrated e-voting system. Like any new digital technology's deployment, however, usage of systems on election day comes with advantages but also a lot of risks and challenges; a situation which arouses the concern of all the key stakeholders. Options Electoral technologies are available for a number of areas; including back-office automation, online database management systems (especially compilation of voters roll), sophisticated results processing tools, reliable and secure connectivity to transmit electoral results, biometric systems, personnel management systems, voter education, managi