University Students’ Perception of Community Information Centres as a Vehicle for Climate Change Awareness Creation in Ghana.

Abstract

Information has a significant role in the growth of people and societies. Yet access to information is unequal across communities, particularly in rural areas in developing countries. Given this, people’s consciousness of climatic change differs by several factors including location and the type of medium employed. This paper examines community information centres as a vehicle for climate change awareness creation in Ghana. The paper adopted a quantitative approach with 205 participants randomly chosen from six public universities. The finding shows that selling of traditional medicines dominates information centres’ activities. Environmental health and climate change education occupy infinitesimal place in these centres’ activities with climate change occupying the very bottom. The study also shows that using local language, providing a platform for grassroot education, integrating scientific and indigenous knowledge, etc. are some of the ways these centres can be used to promote climate change consciousness. The results also disclose that community information centres face the problems of limited resources, lack of interest, unreliable power source etc. Regarding how to manage these challenges, the majority of the participants proposed the role of government in providing resources, community sensitisation, an alternative power source, among others. The paper concludes that although proper attention has not been given to climate change awareness creation in information centres’ activities in Ghana, these informational hubs can be a medium to raise climate change awareness in the disadvantaged and marginalised rural communities in which they are situated to facilitate local adaptation.