11/05/2026
Shaping the Future at Peace: How the Youth and the Media Are Building Peaceful Cities
• Speech delivered by Emmanuel Kofi Agyeman
• Date: 8th August, 2026
Good morning distinguished guests, members of the media, traditional leaders, invited dignitaries, and my dear young people.
It is a great honour to join you today as we commemorate World Press Freedom Day under the important theme: “Shaping the Future at Peace: How the Youth and the Media Are Building Peaceful Cities.”
Today is not only a celebration of press freedom, but also a reminder of the critical role the media continues to play in protecting democracy, promoting accountability, and shaping national conversations.
At a time when press freedom is declining in many parts of the world, Ghana continues to make encouraging progress on the global stage. According to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, Ghana has achieved its highest ranking in five years, moving from 60th position in 2024, to 52nd in 2025, and now to 39th out of 180 countries in 2026.
What makes this achievement even more significant is the fact that it comes at a time when the global media environment is becoming increasingly difficult. As Reporters Without Borders noted in its report:
“For the first time in the history of the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, over half of the world’s countries now fall into the ‘difficult’ or ‘very serious’ categories for press freedom.”
So for Ghana to be making progress at a time many countries are declining is something we must appreciate and protect.
That progress reflects the efforts of journalists, media houses, communicators, and citizens who continue to defend free expression and responsible journalism in our country.
But beyond celebrating press freedom today, I also want us to reflect on peace, development, and the future of our young people.
When we talk about peace, we often think about the absence of violence or conflict. But real peace goes beyond that. A peaceful city is a city where young people have hope, where communities are developing, and where people feel they have a future.
Because the truth is simple: there cannot be lasting peace where there are no opportunities. As we are often told, “the devil finds work for idle hands.”
When young people are unemployed, disconnected, and frustrated, society becomes unstable. But when young people are economically engaged and involved in community development, they become protectors of peace rather than victims of hopelessness.
So today, I want to present one important but often overlooked pathway to peace, development, and youth empowerment. That pathway is self-help projects, and I will use Africa, Ghana, Bono, and Dormaa East as examples.
Across Africa, some of the most successful development stories have come from ordinary people organising themselves, contributing their labour, ideas, and resources to solve their own problems.
In Kenya, Wangari Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in 1977 at a time when many rural communities were facing deforestation, water shortages, and worsening poverty. What began with ordinary women planting trees in their local communities grew into one of Africa’s most respected grassroots movements. Over 50 million trees were planted across Kenya, creating jobs, restoring degraded lands, empowering women economically, and reducing environmental tensions within communities.
And when we mention Rwanda today, what comes to our minds? Many people immediately think about cleanliness, order, and discipline.
But behind that transformation is a strong culture of collective responsibility. Rwanda has an initiative called Umuganda, where citizens across the country come together every month for communal labour such as road repairs, sanitation, school construction, and environmental clean-up exercises. Today, Umuganda has become one of the foundations of Rwanda’s rebuilding and development story.
We have also seen this same spirit here in Ghana, though we have not coined a word for it, which I will do today.
Over the years, successive governments have promoted community-led development initiatives through communal labour, youth engagement programmes, sanitation campaigns, afforestation projects, and local infrastructure partnerships with district assemblies. Across many parts of Ghana, communities have built schools, clinics, markets, roads, and water systems through self-help before government support later followed.
And in Bono and Dormaa East, we have seen strong leadership in this direction through the efforts of Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyeman Badu II. He has consistently championed communal development, sanitation, and community mobilisation across the region. Personally, I had the privilege of joining him on several occasions during my tenure as District Chief Executive, and I deeply appreciate the example he continues to set for the people of Bono and Dormaa East.
Through his regular clean-up exercises and community mobilisation activities, he continues to reinforce an important principle: that development begins when citizens themselves become active participants in improving their environment, rather than waiting entirely for government intervention.
Building upon that same spirit, one clear example during my tenure as District Chief Executive was the cashew initiative implemented between 2018 and 2021, where over one million polyclonal cashew seedlings were distributed freely to farmers across the district, covering more than 21,000 acres of land.
What makes this initiative remarkable is not just the number of trees planted, but the model behind it. Instead of spending huge amounts purchasing seedlings externally, communities were involved directly. Twelve nursing centres were established, farmers contributed labour, and together, more than one million seedlings were raised and distributed. This approach saved the Assembly over GH₵1.5 million while building a strong sense of ownership among the people.
Today, the impact is visible across Dormaa East. More than 200 young people are now working as cashew agents in the district, buying and selling hundreds of bags of cashew every month. Before this initiative, the number of active buyers in the district was less than twenty.
That is what self-help projects can do. They do not only build infrastructure; they create economic ecosystems. They create jobs. They create hope. And when young people begin to see opportunity within their own communities, peace becomes more sustainable.
Another example is the Nseseresu Canopy Walk. I believe many people here may have visited the site or at least heard about it. In fact, I will encourage everyone to take time and experience it personally.
What makes projects like this important is not only the tourism value, but the community spirit behind them. Local people became part of the process. Local youth became involved. And today, the project continues to create economic activity for surrounding communities while positioning Dormaa East as a destination for tourism and investment.
This is why I strongly believe self-help projects must become a national conversation. Very soon, I intend to advocate for a policy change where the allocation for self-help projects under the District Assemblies Common Fund is increased from 5% to 10%.
My fellow media personalities, I will be coming to your doorsteps very soon to help push this national conversation. Because if we are serious about building peaceful cities, then we must also be serious about building opportunities for young people.
The media does not only report society; it shapes society. The stories we tell influence what young people aspire to become. When the media highlights innovation, entrepreneurship, local development, and community leadership, it inspires action and gives hope to society.
As we mark this World Press Freedom Day, let us remember that the future of peaceful cities will depend not only on governments, but on communities that are willing to act, young people who are willing to build, and a media that is willing to tell stories that move society forward.
And to end my speech, I will humbly suggest that we formalise Umuganda in Ghana and call it “Omanbapa.” My idea is for Omanbapa Day to be constitutionalised as a National Self-Help Project Day, where communities across Ghana come together regularly to build, clean, repair, plant, and develop the environments they live in.
Because at the end of the day, peaceful cities are not built by words alone. They are built by responsible citizens, empowered youth, active communities, and a media that inspires collective action.
Thank you.
