In a unique move to build the dialogue capacities of stakeholders in the migration and diaspora landscape, GIZ Ghana, through its Programme Migration & Diaspora (PMD) and funding from the German Government, undertook a four-day multi-stakeholder dialogue training and diaspora engagement capacity building for key state and non-state actors in migration governance in Ghana. The trainings are expected to build the collective leadership skills of the stakeholders in Ghana’s migration governance and diaspora engagement ecosystem to harness collaborative skills and competences of relevant actors.

It is expected that the knowledge gained from this multi-stakeholder dialogue will help participants contribute to the effective realization of development-oriented migration and diaspora engagement in Ghana. Some of the key topics covered include exploring the collective leadership compass and the dialogic change model for the implementation of stakeholder collaborations, practical-based collaborative ecosystem related exchanges, stakeholder mapping approaches, stakeholder interest and influence mapping.

In her opening remarks, Senior National Programme Coordinator for GIZ-Programme Migration & Diaspora, Abena O. Amponsah-Bio said “our core objective for this training series is to equip our partners to build on their established capacities in stakeholder engagement and dialogue around migration governance. Undoubtedly, dialogue is at the heart of successful stakeholder engagement.” She added “as we know, there are different stakeholders in the migration governance space in Ghana and there are several policy issues that demands effective dialoguing as a necessary step to make progress. These stakeholders are very diverse in every sense of the word; and their needs and aspirations keep changing by the day. What might work in our engagement with one stakeholder, might not necessarily work for the other. As a result, we need to be abreast of the changing landscape and find creative ways of engaging collectively for the achievement of long-term goals.”

The capacity building, the first in the series of three planned trainings, brought together 37 participants drawn from the Diaspora Affairs, Office of the President, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, Labour Department of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Centre for Migration Studies, Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ghana Refugees Board, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Right to be Free, Catholic Relief Service, Scholars in Transit, SEWA Foundation, National Population Council and the Africa Emancipation Movement.

Other topics participants were taken through include trust-building among actors in migration governance; exploring concepts of collective leadership and enhancing collaborations and individual competence; Paradigm Shift toward Collective Leadership; Enlivening Collaboration through Collective Leadership; the Collective Leadership Compass; Defining Collective Leadership Dimensions; Personal Collective Leadership Assessment, Peer coaching and journaling for personal development. Participants further built on their capacities in Collaboration Ecosystem and strengths for leading collectively; Understanding Context for Collective Leadership; Creating a sense of wholeness in Collaboration Ecosystems; Building Collaboration Ecosystems; Enhancing Practice of Collective Leadership; Quality Check of Collaboration Ecosystem; Building on Strengths for Leading Collectively; Defining Entry Points for Enlivening Collaboration Ecosystem, among others.

The all-interactive session saw stakeholders dialogue on the National Migration Policy of Ghana, the draft diaspora engagement policy and the Labour Migration Policy of Ghana. At the end of the training series, participants were awarded Collective Leadership Specialist Certification. It is envisaged that participants of this training session and subsequent future trainings in the series, will be able to pass on their gathered skills and experiences on to others in their respective institutions and foster sustained multi-stakeholder dialogues around migration governance in Ghana.