Around 30 journalists and media practitioners participated in the two-day Kumasi training at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). The programme covered responsible reporting on cybercrime, online fraud, phishing, impersonation, misinformation, child online protection, sextortion and cyberbullying. Participants also developed practical skills to improve their own digital safety, protect journalistic sources and communicate complex cyber risks clearly to the communities they serve.

The National Community Media Cyber Capacity Building Project was implemented by the Africa Center for Digital Transformation in partnership with the Cyber Security Authority and financed by the Government of the Czech Republic through its Transformation Cooperation Programme. By strengthening the skills of regional and community journalists, the project seeks to bring practical cybersecurity information closer to citizens, including audiences outside Ghana’s largest urban centres. The Kumasi phase completed the project’s training programme, which began with its first phase in Accra.

During his working visit to Kumasi, Nick Ojo Omorodion also met KNUST Vice-Chancellor Professor Christian Agyare. Their discussion focused on potential cooperation between KNUST and Czech technical universities, including student and staff mobility, joint research, knowledge sharing, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Professor Agyare welcomed the Czech transformation programme project and highlighted the compatibility between the proposed cooperation and KNUST’s existing academic and research activities.

The working programme of the Czech Chargé d’affaires also included a visit to the Distributed Internet of Things Platforms, Privacy and Edge Intelligence Research Laboratory (DIPPER Lab) at KNUST. The laboratory presented its advanced research facilities and projects applying artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain and edge intelligence to digital safety and other practical challenges in Ghana and across Africa.