Ghana to host urban design conference

Ghana is to host an international “Urban Design Conference on Accra,” from February 25 to 27 at the Accra Children’s Library to build upon existing development plans and initiatives in order to instigate medium to long-term strategies.

The Urban Design Conference of Accra will also serve as a platform to develop a balanced and unique perspective for transforming the capital into a city with context, culture, economy, and most importantly, unique infrastructure in its broadest terms.

The conference is a follow up to the “Accra Revisited: How Creative Impulses Underpinned by Economy and Culture, Can Reshape It,” a symposium organised by the Netherlands Embassy in Accra in January 2015 hosted by Mr Hans Docter, the Netherlands’ Special Envoy for Ebola.

Mr Docter is the Dutch Ambassador in Ghana and is also responsible for Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Urban Design Conference on Accra is being funded and supported by the Government of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands Embassy in Ghana.

The event, DASUDA initiative, is being organised by AAMatters, and Cityförster in collaboration with its local partners ArchiAfrika a non-governmental organisation.

Key speakers for the conference include the Deputy Minister of Finance Mrs Mona Quartey; Deputy Minister of Transport, Mrs Joyce Bawah-Mogtari; Representative of Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA); former AMA Chief Executive Officer Mr Nat Amarteifio; and Ghana Institute of Architects President Joseph Hayford.

Prominent Architects from Ghana, the ECOWAS region and Europe, will also participate as well as some of the leading advocates in the realm of economy, finance and economy, design and architecture and the creative arts and culture.

There will be a major architecture, music and poetry Concert, featuring rapper Edem, Architect Kunle Adeyemi and Poet Nana Asase at the Old Kingsway building in Jamestown.

This will be preceded by the launch of the Ghana Design Network, at the children's library.

As part of preparation towards hosting the Urban Design Conference on Accra, the Children’s Library is undergoing rehabilitation.

Mr Joe Osae-Addo, ArchiAfrika Chairman, told the Ghana News Agency that the library would host the conference.

He said the renovation was sponsored by Coral Paints Ghana, Micheletti & Company Limited, BAFLA Blocks, Krane construction, A&C Development and NES Services.