Spaces for Change (S4C), a Non-Profit Organization which was originally based in Nigeria has officially launched its operations in Ghana.
Spaces for Change (S4C) is a non-profit organization working to infuse human rights into social and economic governance processes, through digital crowd-sourcing, research, policy analysis, advocacy, youth engagement, public interest litigation and community action.
The launch of S4C Ghana was held on Wednesday 8th November at the Airport View Hotel with other Ghanaian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in attendance.
Some of these included the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), Youth Alive Initiative (AYI) Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) among others.
Also, in attendance was the Deputy Commissioner in charge of human rights and administrative justice at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mercy Larbi and the Administrator at the Non-Profit Organization Secretariat, Gloria Baffoe-Bonnie.
Speaking exclusively to MX24 news after the launch, Executive Director of Spaces for Change, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, noted that the launch was to formalize their operational presence in Ghana after having worked in partnership with Ghanaian organizations for a very long time.
“What we have simply done is operationalize the partnerships we’ve had with different stakeholders in Ghana, with government institutions, civil society, media, and communities”, she said.
On the areas of work they have been doing in Ghana and other parts of West Africa, the executive director said they include defending the civic space, energy and extractive justice, gender inclusion program and the housing and urban governance program.
She added that in their collaborations with other organizations for over a decade, she hopes that the official launch of a branch here in Ghana will further deepen ties in order to work towards achieving a greater good.
Executive Director for the ACEP, Benjamin Boakye, for his part, said his outfit’s collaboration with Spaces for Change has been a worthy one and they are happy to continue with them.
He added that Spaces for Change coming to Ghana makes it easier for collaborative efforts to ensure that natural resource extraction leads to the transformation of the economy to benefit the ordinary people.
Deputy Commissioner for CHRAJ, Mercy Larbi also speaking to MX24 News, welcomed Spaces for Change to join the numerous CSOs that the commission has been working with in promoting and protecting human rights in Ghana.
“We have a human rights NGO forum in Ghana that we work with, we meet and discuss the work that they are doing and how their work is helping us to achieve the promotion and protection of human rights in Ghana, so we welcome them to be part of the existing CSOs that we have in Ghana”, she said.
The organization also aims to increase the participation of the youth, women and communities in the development of social and economic policy, and also help public authorities and corporate entities to put a human rights approach at the heart of their decision-making.
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