CERATH Development Organization (CDO) through its Coconut Waste Project (COWAP) funded by the European Union (EU) has organized a learning workshop dubbed “Green and Circular Economy: An Avenue for Job Creation in Ghana”. The workshop took place at Mensvic Grand Hotel, Accra on the 15th of September 2022.
The workshop sought to provide a forum for the dissemination of findings from the project’s research on youth participation in the green and circular economy. The research is dubbed ‘ Youth in Green and Circular Economy: The Way Forward to Sustainable Job Creation in the Sector’. The learning workshop served as an opportunity to share findings of the project’s research, and also stimulated discussions among stakeholders on relevant issues within the green and circular economy space in Ghana. The workshop also served as a channel to abreast stakeholders on the progress made by the project.
In her opening remarks, the Country Director of CDO, Lucille Abruquah mentioned that “the green and circular economy is a sector that requires significant attention due to its dual potential of creating jobs for young people while making the environment cleaner”.
“Youth in Ghana needs urgently more qualified jobs. The greening of economies will bring new job opportunities. We must better understand these opportunities, so that youth can benefit”, said Clemens Beckers, representative of the EU, during the workshop.
The event hosted different stakeholders from academia, public, private, and development sectors. These included students from selected tertiary institutions, recycling and waste processing companies, representatives of the La Nkwantanang Municipal Assembly (LaNMMA), coconut vendors, and the media.
The workshop featured presentations from the United Nations Development Programme (UNPD) representative, who presented on ‘Opportunities for Youth in Circular Economy’, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also presented ‘The Role of Government and the Opportunities for Green & Circular Economy Businesses in Ghana. These presentations were received with questions and recommendations from some persons present at the workshop and online, via Facebook live and Zoom. Furthermore, the learning workshop had breakout sessions, with each group presenting their thoughts and ideas for the green and circular economy in Ghana. The event hosted businesses which exhibited their products manufactured from waste such as plastics and coconut husks to participants at the event.
COWAP is funded by the EU under the Circular Economy and Local Development Programme. The project aims at achieving a green-circular economy and creating livelihood opportunities through value addition to coconut husks waste in the La Nkwantanang – Madina Municipality (LaNMM). The objectives of COWAP include the establishment of a coconut waste aggregation system in the target municipality, as well as instituting a processing center to convert coconut waste into selected useable products.
The project is being implemented by a consortium consisting of CDO, Tree Crops Center (TCC), and the La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Assembly.
