Walansi — a Waali word meaning "voice with a message" or "having an opinion," spoken in the communities of northern Ghana where this programme is rooted. A Digital Walansi Fellow is a young woman trained to carry that voice — on digital safety, media literacy, and civic rights — into the schools and communities she already belongs to.
of girls surveyed want to be active in digital spaces — to learn, share stories, and engage in civic life.
say fear of harassment, abuse, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence prevents them from doing so.
— from Paahibu Space's community research, Upper West Region
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is rising rapidly across Ghana and West Africa — from non-consensual sharing of images and digital financial abuse, to coordinated harassment that silences women in civic and public life.
In the Upper West Region, these harms are compounded by limited access to reporting services, deeply internalized cultural norms, and a significant gap in community-level digital safety programming designed specifically for girls in this context.
The Digital Walansi responds to both the harm and the aspiration. It does not frame girls primarily as victims of digital exclusion. It frames them as young people with voices, skills, and stories who deserve the safety infrastructure, the knowledge, and the platforms to participate in digital public life on their own terms.
The programme is designed around a foundational conviction that the most effective intervention in girls' digital lives is one led by young women who belong to the same communities, speak the same languages, and carry the same cultural knowledge as the girls they are working with.
Thirty young women aged 18 to 30 are selected through an open, competitive Expression of Interest process and complete a five-day training programme. The curriculum covers technology-facilitated gender-based violence and Ghana's legal framework; practical digital safety skills; media and information literacy; AI and deepfake recognition; survivor-centred safeguarding; ethical storytelling; digital civic leadership; and community facilitation.
"The most effective intervention is one led by women who already belong to the community."
— Digital Walansi Programme Principle
Fellows are recruited from the communities they serve. They speak the languages, know the people, and carry the cultural knowledge that external facilitators cannot replicate.
The 87% and 79% figures that shaped the programme's design are primary data generated from Paahibu Space's own community research in the Upper West Region.
The programme addresses digital exclusion and TFGBV alongside girls' aspirations for civic participation, storytelling, and professional growth.
The Club Constitution, the Corner infrastructure, Teacher Focal Point orientation, and end-of-programme continuity review are all designed to persist after the funded cycle ends.
The programme is delivered in the Upper West Region — consistently underserved by digital safety programming concentrated in Accra and the south — and led by an organisation and founder from that region.
Each fellow is a young woman from the Upper West Region, recruited from the communities she serves. She carries the language, the relationships, and the cultural knowledge that makes this programme work.
Wa, Senior High School
Cohort profiles updated each programme cycle
Organisations that engage with the programme — whether as facilitators, development session contributors, community partners, or co-funders — gain access to a set of resources, relationships, and opportunities rooted in the Upper West Region.
Real-time insights from Digital Reflection Boxes in five partner schools, community-level data on TFGBV, and youth perspectives from underserved school communities.
The Digital Walansi MIL and TFGBV Toolkit — a community-validated model for media and information literacy programming that works beyond urban audiences.
A structured, evidence-based model for engaging girls experiencing online harm and building their agency as digital citizens.
Pilot ideas, test communication strategies, and explore integration with the Walansi Kontonbile chatbot through Digital Walansi Clubs and school workshops.
Jointly produce policy briefs on digital safety for girls in Ghana, case studies, and research outputs for national and regional platforms.
Access to five senior high schools, Teacher Focal Points, and the wider network of community actors engaged through the Digital Walansi deployment.
Named in all programme documentation, donor reports, social media, and on every Digital Walansi Fellow certificate at graduation.
Documented evidence of reach into the Upper West Region — a geography consistently underserved and increasingly prioritised by international funders.
Interested in partnering?
Reach out to the Paahibu Space team to explore how your organisation can engage.
Questions? Reach out to us.
programs@paahibuspace.org