Students of the University of Education, Winneba are taking bold, creative steps to confront two critical social issues — sexual harassment and sexually transmitted infections — through the power of play, art and advocacy.
Level 100 Social Studies students embarked on an experiential learning visit to the Right to Play Centre of Excellence as part of their coursework in Reproductive Health and Family Life Education. The initiative aimed not only to deepen their academic understanding but to equip them with practical advocacy skills that inspire action within and beyond the university community.
The engagement builds on earlier innovative work by Level 300 students from the Department of Basic Education, who explored creative approaches to teaching science concepts under the guidance of Dr. Cosmos Eminah. This time, the focus shifted to reproductive health, consent and STI awareness — issues that directly affect young people.
Dean of the Faculty of Liberal and Social Studies, Professor Lucy Effeh Attom, underscored the urgency of sustained advocacy in combating sexual harassment and the spread of STIs. She emphasised that students possess immense talents in art, writing, innovation and digital communication — tools that can transform civic education into powerful social movements.
According to her, the practical assignment requiring students to develop posters, poetry and visual campaigns reflects the new curriculum’s focus on translating theory into meaningful action.
At the heart of the initiative is the Right to Play Centre of Excellence, established following a Memorandum of Understanding between UEW and Right To Play Ghana. The Centre operates under the School of Education and Life-Long Learning and promotes child-centred, play-based pedagogies that support holistic development and lifelong learning.
Coordinator of the Centre, Dr. Diana Adjei-Fianko, explained that the facility now serves as a hub for training, research, advocacy and collaboration among educators and policymakers committed to strengthening education through innovative approaches.
The student presentations were both creative and courageous.
One group, led by Isaac Kofi Enuson, used symbolic colours — white for purity and red for danger — to illustrate how victims of sexual harassment often suffer in silence. Their message was clear: harassment can happen anywhere, and victims must be heard, protected and supported.
Grace Essien Mensah and her team tackled STI awareness, defining infections such as syphilis, gonorrhea and HIV, outlining causes and prevention strategies, and emphasising abstinence, condom use, regular medical check-ups and responsible behaviour. Importantly, they called for compassion toward persons living with infections, stressing that stigma only deepens harm.
Isaac Frimpong reinforced the importance of youth-led advocacy, arguing that peer-to-peer communication is one of the most effective tools in prevention campaigns. By categorising STIs and explaining symptoms and preventive measures, he demonstrated how informed youth can become ambassadors of change.
Adding emotional depth to the advocacy campaign, Louisa Nketia and her group delivered an original poem titled “My Body, My Voice.” The performance echoed a powerful message of consent and dignity, reminding the audience that “no means no” and calling for an end to sexual harassment — now, today and forever.
The visit stands as a testament to UEW’s commitment to experiential, community-engaged learning — an approach that empowers students to address real-life social challenges with creativity, confidence and courage.
By blending play-based pedagogy with civic responsibility, the University of Education, Winneba continues to nurture graduates who are not only academically sound but socially conscious — young leaders ready to transform silence into dialogue, stigma into understanding and knowledge into action.
