National Folklore Board to digitize and monetize Ghanaian folklore and heritage

As part of the Government’s agenda to create a folklore inventory, the National Folklore Board has partnered with telecommunication giant, MTN, to highlight Ghana’s folklore and heritage to the youth of this generation using the mobile app – Ayoba.

The National Folklore Board signed the MOU with MTN, at the MTN Head Office in Accra on October 21, to curate, amplify, and monetize Ghanaian creatives’ art and craft using MTN’s Ayoba app.

The event which was attended by industry heavyweights including MUSIGA President Obour, Trigmatic, actor Bob Smith, actress Akofa Edjeani Asiedu, and more is a clear indication, the step that was taken by the Acting Director of the National Folklore Board, Nana Adjoa, and her team, who strongly believe digitizing Ghana’s Folklore will shine more light on Ghana’s Heritage and our creatives.

Nana Adjoa Adobea Asante, the Acting Director of the National Folklore Board, addressing the media after the conference, said, her outfit was poised in helping artisans and creatives thrive in their endeavors especially considering their vast reach on the continent and beyond.

"Many a time a lot of people have asked me what folklore entails, with many of them thinking folklore is limited to just our folktales."

The laws of Ghana define folklore as the literary, artistic, and scientific expressions belonging to the cultural heritage of Ghana which is created, preserved, and developed by ethnic communities of Ghana or by an unidentified Ghanaian author.

Folklore includes music, dance, art, designs, names, signs, and symbols, performances, ceremonies, architectural forms, handicrafts, and narratives, or any other artistic or cultural expressions."

"Today, we are gathered to commence the beginning of a partnership that seeks to bring our folklore to the very doorstep of every Ghanaian. This is a conscious effort aimed at ensuring that our youth in particular are exposed to the beauty of our folklore.

“The National Folklore Board and MTN take that bold step to bring back what appears to be disappearing, and indeed in our modern-day and dispensation, there cannot be a better medium to disseminate our folklore than through its digitization. With this collaboration, our folklore will just be a click or tap of a button away from us. Sankofa (yen kyri) we are going back to our roots.," Nana Adjoa stated.

Mr. Eric Nsarkoh, the Sales and Distribution Executive of MTN, was excited about the partnership and acknowledged how beneficial the Ayoba App will be for consumers who download the app.

"Our partnership with the National Folklore Board is because they are the gatekeepers of the folklore content in Ghana, whether its stories, music, or visuals. What it means is that, if the youth want to see folklore content, we as a telecommunication company can connect them to the internet and make the content accessible with the app."

"If they want to consume content on YouTube and Facebook, there is a vehicle that connects them but if they want folklore content, they will have to google them and they might not get the detailed information they need. This new partnership with the National Folklore Board will allow us to connect them to the content that is credible and verified." Eric Essan said.

Explaining the key phases of the new partnership, Nana Adjoa said, "the whole project is in three phases, the first phase will focus on getting all the content on the platform and educating creatives on how to get their content on the Ayoba app.

"We will then follow up with letting the public know about the platform and content because the main aim of this is to provide everyone who accesses the app with enough and credible information about Ghanaian Folklore."

"The third phase will include looking at ways to monetize the content for the creatives who contribute to the platform to gain some funds to further expand their craft."

This is one of the many steps that the National Folklore Board is taking to ensure that as a state institution it executes successfully its mandate of creating a folklore inventory and promoting Ghana’s rich folklore and culture, and at the same time, providing economic empowerment to our creative artists.