Ghana Culture Forum set for March 14

At last, a day, whose purpose is to promote our national culture, arts, and academic success, has been set aside this year to celebrate Ghana’s heritage.

Proposed by the Ghana Culture Forum (GCF), a membership based civil society consultative and advocacy network of cultural practitioners & activists and organisations, in partnership with the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture, the ‘Ghana Culture Day’ set on Wednesday, March 14, will showcase an kaleidoscope of Ghanaian cultural interaction and expressions at the National Theatre in Accra.

To be held under the theme ‘Culture – Our Life! Culture We dey Chop!!’, the day will be marked with an emporium, a marketplace – a courtyard of cultural interaction and expressions that will climax in the formal launch of the GCF!

His Excellency the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana is expected to grace the occasion as the Special Guest of Honour. Also designed to promote the mainstreaming of culture in national development, the event seeks to emphasize the important linkages between culture and other sectors of national life.

The Emporium, which will take place in the afternoon from 2pm, will see a series of exhibitions and performance sessions with the participation of schools, cultural actors, organisations and the general public. There will be a delightful culinary section where preparation of some of our more traditional dishes will be demonstrated and offered for tasting!

In the evening at 5pm a Keynote presentation on the theme Culture – Our Life! Culture We dey Chop! by Professor Kofi Anyidoho of the University of Ghana, and member, Interim Steering Committee of the GCF will be made at the interactive forum, which will also see the formal launch of the Ghana Culture Forum by His Excellency the Vice President.

Proposed and initiated at a UNESCO-organised Consultative Forum on the “Power of Culture in Development” held on 28th April, 2011 in Accra, the GCF has a number of cultural personalities as members of the Interim Steering Committee of the Forum.

They have since been working to establish the GCF as a civil society advocacy platform for culture development and action, and the conveners at the helm are Professor Esi Sutherland-Addy, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana (Chairperson) and Mr. Akunu Dake, Heritage Development (Vice Chair). All domain organisations are actively participating in the evolution of the programmes of the GCF.

It is hoped that this day becomes instituted as a national culture day, set aside to celebrate Ghana and encourage more patriotism. A day when everybody, foreigner or local resident will eat, speak, drink and sleep Ghana.

The Ghana Culture Forum is a membership based Civil Society consultative forum. It is a network of cultural practitioners & activists and organisations united around a common vision of affirming the cultural foundations of development and enhancing the cultural sector.