Incorporate cultural dimensions into NEPAD - Chief Director

Kumasi, Oct 20, GNA - Mr Kofi Asuman, Chief Director of the National Commission on Culture (NCC), has called for a greater attention to be given to the cultural dimensions and perspective of the NEPAD document in order to achieve the principles and objectives of the initiative.

He said although NEPAD was a continental initiative to improve the quality of life of Africans, the concept could better get to the people through their culture.

Mr Asuman made the call at the opening of a three-day workshop on NEPAD and culture in Kumasi on Thursday.

The workshop, which is being organized by the NCC and the NEPAD secretariat in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is being attended by traditional rulers, NGOs and other opinion leaders from Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions.

It aimed at soliciting inputs based on the authentic African culture and incorporate it into the NEPAD initiative in order to achieve its aim of eradicating poverty on the continent. Mr. Asuman said most international conventions and treaties failed to achieve their objectives because governments overlooked the cultural approach to communicate these messages.

He said NEPAD could be understood and carried out with the people's culture serving as the riverbed in which the aims, objectives and the principles of the initiatives would flow. Dr Michael Egyir, Principal Economic Officer of the Ministry of Regional Co-operation and NEPAD, said some of the objectives of the initiative were to eradicate poverty from the continent and promote the empowerment of women.

He said the initiative had been able to bring peaceful changes in government in some African countries, which indicate that democracy was gaining root on the continent.

He said the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which is part of NEPAD initiative aimed at improving good governance and accountability on the continent.