August 17, 2017
Accra, 14th August 2017: There is no doubt that violent extremism continues to pose daunting security challenges and undermines continental, regional and national peace and security.
It is against this background that the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), and the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT/CAERT), is collaborating to organize the maiden Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Course, aimed at building capacities in preventing and countering violent extremism in Africa.
The Minister for National Security, Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah, in his opening address, expressed his delight over the introduction of the course, which he believes will immensely benefit the African continent, “I am particularly excited about this course, in view of the huge threat that violent extremism and terrorism poses to all nations around the world and especially the African Continent”, he said.
August 17, 2017
Accra, 14 August, 2017: The Minister for Communications, Hon. Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has pointed out that the unavailability of the critical competencies to deal with cyber security issues, is a primary cause of increased global challenges in the fight against cyber security.
Hon Owusu-Ekuful cited a 2017 Global Information Security Workforce Study - Benchmarking Workforce Capacity and Response to Cyber Risk conducted by Frost & Sullivan early this year, which notes that sixty-six percent of organizations identified the lack of skillset in addressing cyber threats as a major challenge. The study further projected cyber security workforce shortage at 1.8 million by the year 2022.
July 21, 2017
At a well-attended inaugural Alumni Homecoming event held at KAIPTC on 20 July, several alumni took turns to share the impact of the post-graduate programmes in their personal and professional lives since completion. The event featured keynote speakers and alumni such as Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications, Hon. Gifty Ohene-Konadu, National Coordinator for the ‘One District, One Factory’ programme at the Office of the President, and Mr. Seth Kwame Boateng, Broadcast Journalist, and Past Ghana Journalist of the year. The event was held under the theme “Reconnecting and Networking for Peace and Security”.
July 18, 2017
The British Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has lauded KAIPTC’s contribution to global peacekeeping, citing its hallmark of training over fifteen thousand participants for peace support operations around the world. He further noted that the Centre is the only training institution on the continent to have a Women, Peace and Security Institute.
He made these remarks during a round table meeting held at KAIPTC to discuss ‘UN Peacekeeping Reform: the UN and Africa’. He stressed the UK government’s support for reform in peacekeeping through improvement in three areas – Planning, Pledges, and performance. These 3P’s, contained in the joint ‘Communiqué signed at the London Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial last September, is considered a blueprint for peacekeeping reform.
July 18, 2017
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Ghana, Mr. David Asante-Apeatu, has highlighted the need to strengthen the rapport between the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), and the Ghana Police Service, to achieve shared goals on peace and security in the nation and beyond.
“We can further collaborate to explore other critical areas of policing, including counter terrorism, transnational organized crime, human trafficking and proliferation of small arms”. This move, he believes, will not only be beneficial to the Ghana Police Service, but also other Police Services within the ECOWAS sub-region.