2019 Volta Trade and Investment Fair to promote traditional sports

The 2019 Volta Trade, Investment and Cultural Fair would promote traditional sports in the country, Mr. Delali Ndo, a member of the event’s planning committee told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

He said traditional games were getting lost in the web of modern sports and that the fair would encourage proper packaging and promotion of fun activities indigenous to Volta and the nation.

Mr. Ndo said the Committee was engaging the various District Assemblies to collate such games and would task the Centre for National Culture and the Culture Department of the Ghana Education Service to help design and make them more practical.

He said the mega fair would help ensure quality packaging and promotion, to make games such as ampe, oware, kpodada, adidada, atikaka, and wrestling find their way onto the fun activities of Ghanaians and on the international stages.

Mr Ndo said other countries had developed their local games to get them featured in international events such as the Olympic Games and that it was important for Ghana to consider elevating her local games.

The committee member lamented that there existed no traditional associations for local games, and said the fair would help highlight the situation and encourage stakeholders to act.

“Volta has so many local games and its time we packaged them”, he said and mentioned that the event would also help market the various traditional culture troupes in the country.

Mr Ndo mentioned that the fair would further help expose the many young and aspiring musical talents in the Region to potential investors with the hosting of a major musical event featuring artists throughout the event.

He invited local and foreign tourists and the business class to patronise the fair, saying its cultural components would help rekindle the spirit of patriotism among Ghanaians.

“Culture gives you what you need for the spirit of patriotism”, he stated.

Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, launching the fair in April this year, said it would help foster partnership and synergy between Volta and Oti Regions and grow the local economies of the Regions.

He asked local exhibitors to pay attention to packaging and promote made in Ghana products, assuring that incubator platforms would be made available to assist small and medium scale businesses to meet international standards.

The two-week fair, which is the fourth in series would kick off on November 25th and end on December 8th on the theme, “sustainable investment and industrial growth through trade promotion.”

It is expected to attract over 2,000 visitors, investors, professionals, entrepreneurs and over 200 local and foreign exhibitors.