FEATURE: The National Folklore Board

From the colourful hand - woven Kente cloth of the Ashantis and the Ewes to the mouth-watering tuo-zaafi meal of the people of the Northern regions of Ghana and the stimulating dance and rhythmic movements of the Ga people during the Homowo festival, Ghana can pride itself in being a nirvana of folklore.

The laws of Ghana define folklore as the “literary, artistic and scientific expressions belonging to the cultural heritage of Ghana which are created, preserved and developed by ethnic communities of Ghana or by an unidentified Ghanaian author ...” Consequently, the long tentacles of folklore stretches to cover our music, dance, art, designs, names, signs and symbols, performances, ceremonies, architectural forms, handicrafts and narratives, and many other artistic or cultural expressions.

The rights in Ghana’s folklore are vested in the President on behalf of the people of Ghana. The National Folklore Board (“NFB”) an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is mandated by law to exercise the ownership rights to folklore on behalf of the President for the people of Ghana.

Mandate of the National Folklore Board

The mandate of the NFB is circumscribed in the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690). The core mandate of the NFB is to promote and protect the folklore of Ghana.

In seeking to promote our folklore, the NFB continues to consciously initiate and execute plans and programmes (including the celebration of the World Folklore Day) that will ensure that the folklore of Ghana is put high up on that pedestal which we can all be proud of as a people.

It is interesting to note that, the NFB is tasked by law to ensure that Ghana is duly compensated for the unauthorized use of her folklore. Any person who uses an expression of folklore outside the authorised scope must be granted authorisation (at a fee) by the NFB. The law requires that royalties and compensation paid to the NFB must be used to promote folklore. The benefits that can be derived from monies collected are numerous. Our creative arts and tourism industries will benefit immensely from an efficient system regulated by the NFB.

Use of folklore outside authorized scope

Over the past few months, various discussions have been generated around the commercialization of our folklore by some foreign entities- the alleged sale of ahenema sandals for over USD 1,000 by a popular Italian fashion brand, the use of Kente in the famous Blank Panther movie and the sale of “Ghana Must Go” bags by the famous fashion design brand Louis Vuitton. All of these usages of Ghana’s folklore which is definitely outside the authorized scope raise very important issues which the NFB is minded to attend to, in order to ensure that our folklore is well protected, and further that we benefit from the royalties and compensation and royalties due us as a people.

In order to understand the discussion on payment of compensation and/or royalties, one must advert his/her mind to what falls outside the authorized scope. Generally, use of expressions of folklore for commercial purposes and/or for purposes outside the customary context, i.e. outside the normal usage of an expression of folklore, require permission of the NFB. For example, a Ghanaian artiste who uses Ghanaian proverbs in his song, will not require permission from the NFB since proverbs form a part of our language, and are employed in everyday conversation. However, on the other hand, a foreign artiste will require permission to use Ghanaian proverbs in his/her song since Ghanaian proverbs do not form part of his everyday language. Also the use of an Adinkra symbol by a company in Ghana, will require permission from the NFB since such use is a branding strategy and therefore commercial in nature.

The NFB has initiated several sensitization programmes and believes that the education will sink in with time. However, when in doubt as to whether or not your use of an expression of folklore falls outside the authorized scope, contact the NFB!

Legal status of folklore

While there is an urgent need to create an inventory of Ghanaian folklore, and indeed the NFB has begun working towards a documentation project, it is worth-noting that the law confers on Ghanaian folklore rights, the attribute of perpetuity. This means that, the ownership rights in folklore transcend all barriers of time, and exist in perpetuity. Due to this rather unique attribute of Ghanaian folklore, coupled with the fact that folklore cannot be attributed to a particular originator, arguably folklore cannot fall under the intellectual property rights which we are all familiar with, i.e. copyright, trademarks, patents and industrial designs. This is because, with these rights, there usually is the need to identify an originator, as well as the fact that these rights usually have time limits.

In a nutshell, while there is the need to document our folklore, the unique nature of folklore renders registration under any of the intellectual property rights legally impossible. That notwithstanding, our rights as a people in respect of our folklore can be enforced, even at the international level, once we can prove that the origin of a particular expression of folklore is traceable to Ghana. Thus Ghana does not need to patent, copyright or trademark its folklore in order to lay claim to it.

Activities of the NFB

World Folklore Day 2018

In commemoration of this year’s World Folklore Day which fell on the 22nd of August, the NFB organised a three -day event from the 20th of August to the 22nd of August 2018. The curtain –raiser for the celebrations was the Launch, Symposium and Eat Ghana Brunch which brought together stakeholders to deliberate on the relevance of folklore to us as a people, and related matters. Children, the medium through which our folklore can best be promoted and sustained, were not left out of the celebrations, as they were treated to a folklore fun day at St. Kizito Catholic School, Nima. Over 400 children participated in this event. The World Folklore day Celebrations was climaxed on the 22nd of August with an inter-nations folklore exhibition.

The celebrations created the avenue for cross- cultural communication and tourism with some 11 countries showcasing their culture during the climax. There was a strong social media campaign dubbed the ‘’Did You Know’’ Series educating the youth and general populace on aspects of Ghana’s rich heritage. World Folklore Day which shall be celebrated annually, has the potential of boosting domestic and international tourism as well as generation of revenue and creation of jobs.

Folklore Clubs

The NFB has initiated plans to establish folklore clubs nationwide to enable the Ghanaian child familiarize himself/herself with the rich Ghanaian folklore through storytelling sessions, arts and crafts and performing arts. The folklore clubs will be an avenue to expose children to the social and developmental gains of folklore and sensitise children to aspire to be cultural practitioners at an early age in order to promote and protect Ghana’s folklore.

Cultural Tourism

Domestic and foreign tourism in Ghana is particularly hinged on Ghana’s rich cultural heritage such as her festivals. The NFB seeks to create comprehensive awareness about the cultural and historical underpinnings of festivals and explain the wonderful historical renditions that accompany these festivals. This project which seeks to encourage participation in our festivals, will employ robust social media campaign strategies.

National Traditional Games Competition

Traditional games are very engaging and educative; however, these games have been overthrown by the technology and its products. In August 2018, the NFB piloted the traditional games sessions, which was a huge success. There is also need for reorientation to whip up interest in the Ghanaian language. The NFB will from next year hold traditional games competitions which will include ethnic language spelling bees. The NFB will organize a pilot competition which will then be rolled out nationwide. This will need initial resourcing, and just like the National Science and Maths Quiz, will potentially become of huge national significance.

Know Your Folklore Campaign- Public Education on Folklore

Due to the far-reaching effect of the ‘Did You Know’ Series which was outdoored prior to the World Folklore Day Celebrations, the NFB seeks to employ this strategy on a regular basis (weekly) to educate the public on our folklore. The campaign, if resourced adequately, shall be a useful medium to disseminate the rich folklore of Ghana, through both traditional and social media.

Conclusion

Ghana has a huge potential to commercially utilize our rich folklore to spur economic growth, create jobs, improve livelihoods and achieve sustainable development. The NFB which has been clothed with the mandate to execute this agenda is poised to deliver its mandate, and believes that with the right support, it shall succeed in promoting and protecting Ghana’s rich folklore.