Cultural group
A call has gone to the youth to discard negative western cultures and fully embrace Ghanaian culture to liberate themselves totally from slavery.
They have also been urged to put a stop to indecent dressing all in the name of fashion and try something Ghanaian and indigenous to protect their cultural heritage.
The call was made by the Cape Coast Metropolitan Director of Education, Mr. Simon Obotan Larbi, during the launch of the 8th Senior High and Technical Schools’ national festival arts in Cape Coast last Wednesday.
The programme was on the theme: “ensuring peace and unity in a sustainable society through culture.”
Mr. Obotan Larbi explained that the nationwide festival, which is organised every two years, is to make the youth accept the Ghanaian culture as unique, adding “we should not make ourselves inferior to the western culture we should rather accept ourselves the way we are to emancipate ourselves totally from slavery.”
He noted with regret how things are going wrong so far as culture is concerned, citing the influx of western names to local names as an example.
The metropolitan director observed that Ghanaians and Africans in general are often embarrassed to mention their African names, warning that if the trend does not change, the erosion of our cultural heritage will continue and there will be nothing Ghanaian left.
He also mentioned the way children and relatives living abroad are hyped during funeral announcements and obituaries as another example of cultural enslavement, saying it is time to liberate ourselves culturally without any intimidation.
Mr. Obotan Larbi therefore expressed the hope that the festival will raise awareness in the youth and bring back positive cultural values that are fading away to make the youth more abreast of their heritage.
The Central Regional Director of Education, Mr. Kofi Sarfo Kantanka, disclosed that Ghana Education Service (GES) believes in correcting the ills in society through education hence the need to raise cultural values in students to minimize the rate of moral decadence.
Mr. Sarfo Kantanka further disclosed that GES has decided that pupils from kindergarten to class three will be taught in the local dialects to enable them speak fluent and correct Ghanaian dialects.
The Adontehene of Oguaa Traditional Area, Nana Kwamena Nifa, who chaired the function, commended the GES for organizing the programme, stressing it will instill the excitement of being Ghanaian in the youth, and appealed to them not to make the programme a nine day wonder.
On her part the assistant Headmistress of Mfantsipim School, Mrs. Phyllis Arthur Simpson, who hosted the programme, announced that the programme was the first ever official launch since its inception in 1995.
She charged the students to take keen interest in their cultural and social groups to familiarize themselves with their cultural norms.
STORY: FROM MAGDALENE SEY, CAPE COAST
