Accra, Dec. 15, GNA - The Accra International Children's Art Festival dubbed: (KIDDAFEST 2004), kicks off on Thursday with about 10,000 children from Ghana, Nigeria and Togo and Liberian refugees at the Budumburam camp in the Central Region.
The four-day festival being organised by the National Theatre of Ghana, will be held from December 16 to December 20, on the general theme: "The Youth Our Children."
It will serve as a platform for the children to exhibit their artistic expressions.
Programmes lined up for the event include: Performances of traditional and contemporary dancing forms, fashion show, Mock Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and a Hip Hop theatre.
The festival will also attract Hip-life and Gospel musicians, while the participants will visit tourist sites, Osu Castle- the seat of Government and Parliament.
The activities would also be used to impress on the leaders of the West African Sub-Region, the need to institute policies that would promote and sustain the common cultural values of the people. The annual event seeks to encourage children to have confidence in developing their artistic talents and be able to express their views about issues that affect them.
Explaining the rationale behind the event to Ghana News Agency, Mr Afari Aboagye, Chairman of KIDDAFEST 2004, said it was the only sustainable artistic and cultural festival that sought to address the holistic development of children irrespective of their socio-cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
