Human Rights Reporters Ghana has renamed its international awards programme, dropping a title it shared with RightsCon, the digital rights summit run by the United States nonprofit Access Now.
The Ghanaian civil society organisation said the HRRG Global RightsCon Awards will now be known as the HRRG Global RightsShield Awards, with the change taking effect immediately.
RightsCon has run since 2011 and is organised by Access Now, drawing more than 5,000 participants to its most recent edition. The name is well established in international human rights circles, and HRRG’s awards programme is not connected to it.
HRRG did not say whether the rebrand followed any contact from Access Now. Its statement gives the reason as strengthening the programme’s independent global identity and positioning it for long-term growth. The organisation stressed repeatedly that the awards are founded, owned and administered solely by HRRG.
Joseph Kobla Wemakor, HRRG’s Executive Director, said the change amounts to “far more than a change of name” and reflects a plan to build an internationally respected platform.
The organisation said honours already presented under the old name remain valid, and that recipients of the maiden edition keep their status as inaugural awardees.
HRRG said it intends to seek partnerships with governments, diplomatic missions, development partners and private sector bodies to widen the programme’s reach, while remaining its sole organiser.
The organisation works on human rights advocacy, investigative journalism and civic participation, and says it convenes a youth sub-platform of Ghana’s civil society network on the Sustainable Development Goals.
