Renewable energy stakeholders and journalists gathered in Accra for a workshop organized by 350Africa.org and its partners, including SYND and 350 G-ROC.

The event, which took place on July 6th, 2023, aimed to foster collaboration between stakeholders in the renewable energy sector and journalists reporting on climate issues.

The workshop served as a platform for media personnel and climate campaigners to exchange ideas and strengthen their partnership.

The session provided a valuable opportunity for the coalition to collectively explore innovative and more effective ways of working together to advance the climate movement and improve media coverage of climate-related topics in Ghana and across Africa.

One of the highlights of the workshop was the participation of grassroots campaigners from the Renewable Energy 4 Communities (RE4C) campaign. Journalists had the chance to conduct interviews with these campaigners, allowing them to gain deeper insights into the experiences and challenges faced by communities involved in renewable energy initiatives.

Africa Regional Campaigner at 350Africa.org, Charity Migwi says the event was a great time to reflect on a decade of work by her organization in Ghana’s fight against coal.

“And so we organized a workshop in Ghana to connect with our partners working on renewable energy. This is especially after winning our coal fight in Ekumfi. And so after winning that coal fight, which was meant to provide energy for Ghana, we decided to start a renewable energy campaign that will show the possibility of potential for Ghana meeting its energy needs to cleaner, sustainable sources, unlike other fossil fuels so this is why we started the renewable energy for communities campaigns,” she told Myjoyonline.com.

Ms Migwi explained that Thursday’s workshop was to strategize on ways to make more gains in the RE space in the country in the next decade.

“The last 10 years was starting as a leap of faith, like we didn't know how to challenge coal, but for the next year, 10 years, we want to be strategic and have a strategic approach in terms of how we work, how we magnify this campaign, how we get people sensitised to learn about the benefits of renewable energy, how we engage the government, or collaborate with them so that we can achieve this goal of, at least, integrating a huge amount of renewable energy in the country's energy mix.”

The workshop also facilitated spokespeople training, equipping climate campaigners with the necessary skills to effectively communicate their message to the media and the public.

This training aimed to enhance their ability to engage with journalists, enabling them to share their stories and advocate for renewable energy solutions more effectively.

Charity says seeing the interaction between the players gives her confidence that Ghana will make giant strides in the next 10 years as far as renewable energy is concerned.

“Just seeing the, the hope and the excitement to, follow through this campaign and considering that all the partners who started this haven't given up, despite the challenges, people are still soldiering on being strong. That gives me hope. And that has been exciting that we can move for forward in strength and unity. I'm hoping that 10 years from now, at least, we will be saying, Ghana is relying on 100% renewable energy.”

By working together, they can raise public awareness, shape public opinion, and influence policy decisions that support the transition to renewable energy.

The workshop in Accra served as a catalyst for strengthening this partnership and fostering a more informed and engaged public discourse on climate change and renewable energy in Ghana and beyond.