Kwami Ahiabenu,II Knowledge Chief

Mr. Joseph Winful is the Executive Chairman of the Financial Accountability & Transparency-Africa and the Chairman of the CSO Platform on IMF. He is a Chartered Management Accountant by profession and recently retired as Senior Partner/CEO of the Ghana Office and an Exco Member and also Board Member of KPMG Africa. Joe was elected Senior Partner of the Ghana firm in 2000 and has oversight responsibilities for Sierra Leone and Liberia. Photo: Kwami Ahiabenu II/International Institute for ICT Journalism. 61 Tweet   23 Like   0 +1 Will the final agreement address civil society demands for accountability to Ghana's poorest citizens? Omar Ortez  is Oxfam America's senior policy advisor on active citizenship. Negotiating teams of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Government of Ghana reached an agreement for a loan program  during the last week of February in Accra . The agreement is still subject to approval by IMF Management and the Executive Board, w...

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has said she plans to sue Fox News for a broadcast that described parts of the French capital as "no-go zones" for non-Muslims. But is it possible for a city to take out a libel action against a TV channel, asks Thomas Dahlhaus? Deputy mayor Patrick Klugman confirmed to the BBC on Wednesday that the mayor was "definitely serious" and that action would be taken "in the coming days". Fox News had rubbed salt into the wounds of the Charlie Hebdo attack, he said, by spreading "totally fake, false information" about the city - including popular tourist areas such as Montmartre. "It was like a pain after the pain to be insulted by such a lack of fact-checking in broadcasts all over the world," he said. Legal experts, he added, were currently deciding whether to bring the action in New York or Paris. A number of legal experts have chorused that the case woul...

Job Introduction Applications are invited from 19th of January . Komla Dumor was a journalist of Africa. His passion was to tell African stories to the world with honesty and integrity. It's a legacy that the BBC wants to continue. The BBC World News Komla Dumor Award will be made to an outstanding individual living and working in Africa, who combines strong journalism skills, on air flair, and an exceptional talent in telling African stories with the ambition and potential to become a star of the future. . Role Responsibility The winner of the BBC World News Komla Dumor award will receive a once-in-a-lifetime training and development opportunity with the BBC in London, starting in early September 2015 and running for three months.  Working with teams from across BBC News, the winner will produce an African s...

The Journalism Fellowship Programme The Journalism Fellowship Programme enables mid-career journalists* to improve their knowledge and to study issues important to their professional development in greater depth than is possible under deadline pressure. Around 25 journalists from around the globe study in Oxford each year on Fellowships of either three, six or nine months, covering one, two or all three terms of the academic year. See available fellowships. Applications are now open for the Journalism Fellowship Programme 2015-16. * A minimum of 5 years' full time professional journalistic experience and a high level of spoken and written English are essential. See eligibility. Programme Content Requirements of the Journalism Felllowship Programme are to conduct academic research and to actively participate in the activities of the Reuters Institute. Research Journalist Fellows are expected to submit a substantia...

Board members of the Global Editors Network (GEN) stand in solidarity with the victims of the shooting that took place at Charlie Hebdo in Paris on 7 January. They condemn this terrorist attack on the freedom of the press and call the worldwide news community to share their solidarity.  On 7 January, masked and armed men burst through the newsroom of Charlie Hebdo , a satirical magazine based in the French capital and killed at least 12 people. Among them were famous cartoonists Cabu, Wolinski, Charb and Tignous.   'It is our duty to stay strong and united against all acts of violence and terrorism committed against journalists and the freedom of the press. All my thoughts are with the families of the victims', said Ricardo Kirschbaum, President of the Global Editors Network. 'As journalists, it is our duty to resist against all threats to democracy, and continue fighting for freedom of speech. Cartoonists, as well as other journalists should b...

The introduction of telecommunications and the Internet has, without doubt, enhanced communication and brought people who, hitherto, were far apart closer. Businesses have also improved, as employing the telephone or going online has reduced time spent on transactions and thereby cut cost in many instances. Nevertheless, while mobile phone penetration has soared over the years, the same cannot be said of the Internet. Ghana can boast a host of telecommunication providers, such as MTN, tiGO, Airtel, Glo, Vodafone and Expresso, which are also providing Internet services, with each trying to outdo one another with one package or another. In view of the very ripe market for Internet services, Surfline, a new Internet service provider, has entered the fray. While we admit that Internet connectivity is still slow in our part of the world, in spite of the introduction of fibre optic, we realise that Ghana is still underutilising the Internet. A lot of government business is still being conduc...

Draft Ghana's 2014 oil and gas exploration and production bill 

USAID and FHI 360 are proud to   invite you to RSVP   for the first Digital Development Forum on Monday, January 26, 2015 in Accra, Ghana. This one-day event will set the ICT4D agenda for 2015 – celebrating the progress made in three critical areas of technology innovation, and guiding the future of ICT-enabled development. Please RSVP now   to join your peers in the ICT community for learning, networking, and collaboration to answer these key questions: Transitioning to Digital Financial Services   – What is the value of E-Payments? The Vital Role of Local Content   – How Can We Bring More Voices Online? Regional Ebola Response   – What Is the Role of ICT Now and Long-Term? We are particularly excited to offer participants the opportunity to give short 5-minute lightning talks highlighting new digital development innovations on these three topics or to lead a learning lunch table topic. Be sure to note your interest on the   Google RSVP form . Please ...

CitiFM beat competition from some media houses to win the 2014 Editors Lab organised by  Global Editors Network (GEN) and Penplusbytes.   The competition, under the theme 'Hack against Ebola' saw participants build new tools for covering and preventing the Ebola epidemic (at a local, national or regional level).   The CitiFM team which was represented by the New Media Manager, Mawuli Tsikata and Broadcast Journalist Betty Kankam Boadu, developed a Mobile Platform that enables people, both educated and uneducated to receive information and updates on the status of Ebola in the country in their preferred local language.   The  Citi FM  team will represent Ghana at the 2015 edition of the GEN Summit in Barcelona, Spain.   Graphic communications group were the 2nd runner for their 'Ebola Tracker' app whilst the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation were adjudged the 1st runner up for developing an Ebola game, 'Ebola Snipper'.Participating teams included Multimedi...

Introduction Epidemics create panic, irrational information, dangerous rumours and uncertified facts, which can all generate chaos. Journalists must be prepared to fight all collateral damage associated with Ebola. Unfortunately journalists on the ground  don’t have the necessary resources and tools that match the responsibility they have to inform local communities. This is why the Global Editors Network has decided to gather local journalists to empower them with the expertise to develop new applications and online tools that can save lives. New technologies and social networks will be crucial for covering and preventing the epidemic from spreading. Please help us to develop new prototypes! Why Ghana?  Ghana's proximity to extremely infected areas makes it a high priority location to intervene. Media in Ghana need to be ready with the right tools to fight Ebola. Ghana’s media is one of the most liberal in Africa, ranking 27th in the  World Press Free...

In continual pursuance of good governance in the extractive sector, Penplusbytes together with Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) is undertaking the “Strengthening Media Oversight of the Extractive Sectors: REPORTING ON OIL, GAS AND MINING” Course B training workshop that aims at the building the capacity of journalists to positively influence the transparent and accountable management of mining, oil and gas in Ghana from 15th - 23rd of September 2014 at the Penplusbytes’ New Media Hub. The 10-day training programme is packed with carefully designed learning opportunities activity list including expert presentations by top industry players and practical field visits to Western region, Ghana’s key oil and gas production region, as well as meet with community members and leaders to discuss pertinent issues affecting the exploitation, utilization, benefits, and challenges of oil and gas from the affected population perspective. The workshop builds on an earlier programme for Ug...

The International Institute of ICT Journalism, Penplusbytes, in partnership with Financial Accountability and Transparency Africa (FAT-Africa) is undertaking a Budget Tracking Project to produce a simplified, easily comprehensible and reader-friendly citizens' budget. This is in recognition of the need to track government expenditure as well as efforts to measure how well policies are implemented and to what extent governments are fulfilling their commitments to citizens.   The joint project, with funding and technical support from STAR-Ghana, taps into the widely acclaimed core competence of Penplusbytes in applying and delivering cutting edge New digital technologies to enhance civil and government interaction as well as FAT-Africa's extensive expertise in promoting financial transparency and budget monitoring, not only to implement this project successfully, but also ensuring that the project's outcome are fully achieved.   The p...