Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
Chris Twum
2 November 2009
Accra — The Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture has expressed concern over the decline in national culture orientation among the youth of the country.
To this end, the Ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, would be taking a critical look at the basic school curriculum on culture, to reflect on the country's cultural orientation and practices.
The Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr. Alex Asum-Ahensah, made these remarks on the "Meet the Press" series at the premises of the Ministry of Information in Accra recently.
Mr. Asum-Ahensah said about 90 per cent of the country's airwaves and national and private print media, were not promoting the country's cultural heritage, but rather politics.
According to him, "The effect of globalisation on our culture cannot be overemphasised. To a large extent, almost everything that surrounds us is of Western orientation. The youth, who are our future leaders, have bought into the western culture phenomena. We, as a country, can no longer identify with our uniqueness as true Ghanaians reflecting our culture heritage."
He said the revival of the country's cultural heritage, would empower the leaders and custodians of the country's culture to lead the crusade, while creating the necessary awareness among the youth, to freely embrace and appreciate the nation's rich culture.
Mr. Asum-Ahensah urged religious bodies and organisations that do control a large percentage of the youth population, to incorporate culture-related programmes in their activities.
The Minister also revealed that his outfit had contracted the German Technical Corporation (GTZ), to develop a five-year strategic plan, while soliciting inputs of stakeholders for the drafted policy.
Mr. Asum-Ahensah hinted that the five year strategic plan would be completed by the end of the year.
The Minister alluded to the fact that the Ministry's inability to develop and also complete national culture centers throughout the country was due to lack of funds. Meanwhile, royalties received from the commercial use of the country's rich folklore materials by foreign companies, had declined drastically, due to poor monitoring.
In view of the above, the Ministry, in partnership with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, would be joining forces in mapping up measures towards the monitoring of the use of our folklore.
The National Folklore Board has proposed programmes to educate the general public and stake holders on its activities.
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