Welcome to the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung!
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is a political foundation that is closely associated to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). With more than 70 offices abroad and projects in over 120 countries, we make a unique contribution to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and a social market economy. Through our European and international cooperation efforts, we seek to foster freedom, social justice and solidarity and a continuous exchange between cultures and religions.
As co-founder of the CDU and the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967) united Christian-social, conservative and liberal traditions. His name is synonymous with the democratic reconstruction of Germany, the firm alignment of foreign policy with the trans-Atlantic community of values, the vision of a unified Europe and an orientation towards the social market economy. His intellectual heritage continues to serve both as our aim as well as our obligation today.
Human beings in their distinctive dignity and with their rights and responsibilities are at the heart of our work. We are guided by the conviction that they are the starting point in the effort to bring about social justice and democratic freedom while promoting sustainable economic activity. By bringing people together who embrace their responsibilities in society, we develop active networks in the political and economic spheres as well as in society itself. The guidance we provide on the basis of our political know-how and knowledge helps to shape the globalisation process along more socially equitable, ecologically sustainable and economically efficient lines.
Together with our various partners we make a contribution to the creation of an international order that enables every country to develop in freedom and under its own responsibility.
The KAS Office in Accra oversees projects across Ghana.
Main objectives of KAS in Ghana
The activities of the Country Programme Ghana that take place in all regions of the country aim to:
- Promote good governance and rule of law to create an environment where citizens’ rights are fully ensured
- Foster democracy and social justice by stimulating political involvement of all societal strata and the effective integration of traditional structures into the modern state
- Empower political leadership by strengthening the role of the parliament as an institution of political decision making and support local political participation
- Develop, issue, and disseminate research and publications
Commitment to the principles of the Social Market Economy
The success or failure of the national economy has a substantial influence on the future development of a full-fledged democracy in Ghana. A failure of the current government in the field of politico-economic reforms could have a detrimental effect on the democratisation process since this would damage the population's confidence in the democratic institutions' ability to problem solving. In this context, KAS is convinced that the Social Market Economy (SME), which the states of the European Union have committed themselves to in the Treaty of Lisbon, provides a suitable framework for economic activities at the national and international levels.
The parliament as an institution of political decision making
Central to the task of consolidating Ghana's young democracy is the strengthening of the parliament as a venue for political decision making. Above all, its significance as a constitutional body needs to be strongly anchored in the consciousness of the population. This is to be promoted by means of a dialogue and cooperation between the parliament and important social groups, above all by NGOs with grass-roots legitimation.
Promoting transparency and political participation with civil society organisations
In Ghana, politics is still a matter of the too few. The representation of interests too often occurs in a complex clientelistic environment, which is deprived of public control. This also partly applies to the political parties and is thereby to a large extent responsible for their bad public reputation. Many - not all – civil society organisations, however, enjoy a much higher public confidence. This is due to their relatively clearly defined approach and publicly well-known common interest. For this reason they play an increasingly important role for lower social strata to participate and influence political decisions, which goes well beyond the once-every-four-years ballot casting.
KAS' Strategy
In order to attain these objectives, KAS cooperates with political parties, civil society organisations, traditional leaders, students and universities as well as handpicked elites. It grants them financial support and offers coaching for:
- The execution of education programmes, conferences, seminars and workshops etc.;
- Capacity building (e.g. by modest subsidies to personnel expenditure as well as further training of the personnel);
- The development of strategy concepts.
Partner
