WOMEN TO SERVE AS BRIDGES OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION (MIRROR, NOV 27, 2010, PAGE 10)

From Tim Dzamboe, Ho

The General Secretary of the African Women in Education Network (AWEN), Madam Helena Awurusa, has asked female teachers to serve as a bridge during conflict situations.
She said conflicts between trade unions could be an obstacle to a united front.
Madam Awurusa said the need for trade unions to unite could not be overemphasised because it was supreme to resolving crises, adding that although pluralism was a healthy tool which encourages participation, it was not in the best interest of the people because it undermines the concept of numbers that was needed to win a battle.
She said this when she addressed the closing ceremony of a capacity-building workshop for 28 participants drawn from the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) at Ho last weekend.
She said the workshop was part of the journey to include men and women in the decision-making process and explained that brotherly and sisterly love buttressed with the application of knowledge acquired would solve all problems.
The course prefect, Miss Helena Naa Dei Okai, suggested that women should be encouraged to take positions at all levels in the job market.
Participants were taken through advocacy and lobbying skills, gender communication skills, HIV/AIDS and practical gender needs and sustaining the West African Women in Education Network (WAWEN).
The workshop was jointly organised by AWEN AND WAWEN and sponsored by the Canadian Teachers Federation.