Develop culture of tolerance…Youth admonished

The Eastern Regional Programmes Officer of the National Commission on Civic Education(NCCE), Agnes Asantewaa, has admonished the youth to develop the culture, ability, and willingness to tolerate opinions or behaviour that one dislikes or disagrees with.

She noted that “people must develop the capacity to endure even in the face of extreme provocation. In life, there are several issues that we may dislike, but we must make room for all those that we find offensive,for instance,by moving away from the presence of the offensive conduct.”

Madam Asantewaa made the admonition at a workshop at Atimpokuin the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region at the weekend.

It forms part of NCCE’s project to rollout post-election engagement on unity, peace, national cohesion and tolerance for the youth in collaboration with United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The project was to engage the youth on the need to protect the 1992 Constitution at all times.

“Our youth must endeavour to protect the 1992 Constitution at all times, ensure peace, unity and national cohesion in inter-party and intra-party activities and also seek to build among themselves culture of tolerance to ensure the nation develops in an environment of peaceful co-existence towards nation building,” she stressed.

The workshopwas on the theme: ‘Empowering the youth to stand up for peace and national unity’. 

Madam Asantewaa urged the youth to be peace ambassadors, abhor violence, eschew intolerance and create room for divergent views without being physically and emotionally abusive.

Joyce Afutu, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs of NCCE, charged the youth to serve as peer educators and not perpetrators of election andrelated violence,acting out of ignorance of laws, rules or regulations.

She explained that the Commission and partners had embarked on training to equip the youth on the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 214) ; and Vigilantism and Related Offenses Act, 2019 (Act, 999) and entreated the public to securea police permit before embarking on any form of demonstration.

Prince Koomson, Eastern Regional Secretary of National Peace Council, said one of the ways to end political party vigilantism was to discourage the youth from indulging in such acts and its related violence. -GNA