In October this year, Penplusbytes, in collaboration with its partner Youth Kommunity, hosted the inaugural Youth Against Disinformation Conference in Accra and Tamale as part of the activities marking the UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) week in Ghana. Aimed at educating young Ghanaians on combating election-related mis/disinformation, the conference continued Penplusbytes' tradition of promoting media and information literacy every October by focusing on equipping young Ghanaians with the knowledge and skills to discern factual information from misleading narratives particularly as Ghana heads toward its 2024 general elections. The event's significance is underscored by its aim to help prepare young voters for the complex media landscape surrounding the elections. During the conference, Penplusbytes' Executive Director, Jerry Sam, emphasized the importance of informed decision-making among young voters, stating, "It is crucial for the youth to base their choices on policies rather than personalities." He noted that personality-driven political discourse often leads to the use of divisive language and the spread of unverified claims, which can negatively affect the democratic process. In the keynote address delivered on behalf of UNESCO Ghana's Country Representative, Mr.
Edmond Moukala, Mr.
Carl Ampah, the National Programme Officer for Culture highlighted the essential role of media literacy in the digital landscape.
He remarked, "It is essential to equip people to critically separate facts from disinformation," and urged the youth to utilize fact-checking tools effectively, noting the challenge fake news poses to informed decision-making. The conference was attended by over 200 young people including high school students, tertiary students, MIL Clubs, Fact-Checking organisations, members of the media, NGOs, and CSOs.