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21.07.2013 Speech

Contribution Of Writers To National Development Speech Delivered At The Book Launch

21.07.2013 LISTEN
By PROF. G.K.S. AFLAKPUI, FGA

Invention of Writing
The literature indicates that writing emerged in many different cultures and in numerous locations throughout the ancient world. Writing was therefore not the creation of any one people. However, the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia are credited with inventing the earliest form of writing which appeared ca 3500 BC.

The invention of writing was the dawn of the information revolution. Writing was a great technological advance which allowed news and ideas to be carried to distant places without having to rely on the memory of a messenger for obvious reasons. Like all inventions, writing emerged because there was need for it. In Mesopotamia, writing was developed as a record keeping vehicle for commercial transactions or administrative procedures. There were also texts that served as 'copy books' for the education of future scribes.

Act of Writing
Writing is a powerful instrument of thought. In the act of composing, writers learn about themselves and their world and communicate their insights to others. Writing confers the power to grow personally and to effect change in the world.

The act of writing is accomplished through a process in which the writer imagines the audience, sets goals, develops ideas, produces notes, drafts, and revised texts and edits to meet the expectations of the audience.

Uses of Writing
Writing is a tool for thinking as the act of writing generates ideas. The important uses of writing include: solving problems, identifying issues, constructing questions, re-considering something one had already figured out and trying out a half-baked idea.

Purposes of Writing
Writing grows out of many different purposes including:

Developing social networks
Engaging in civic discourse
Supporting personal and spiritual growth
Reflecting on experience
Communicating professionally or academically
Building relationships with others
Engaging in aesthetic experiences
Contributions of Writers to English Language

Many people have contributed to the evolution of the English Language in ways that may or may have not been intended but have had profound effects over time.

During the period of Norman rule (1066-1154), there was a proliferation of English dialects that meant that 15th Century people in one part of England could not understand people in another.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) is considered the first great poet to write in English. Chaucer wrote in a type of English most people today can barely read and understand because the type of English written then has undergone tremendous transformation from what we have today.

William Caxton (1422-1491) is reported to be the first person to print a book in English. As more and more books increased possibilities of education, they also helped create a common language rather than such a babble of tongues. Caxton is also reported to have translated numerous foreign works and at the same time introduced many foreign words into the English Language.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) contributed to the language by perpetuating a large vocabulary - and many have cited the large vocabulary of the plays as evidence that the largely uneducated Shakespeare could not have written the works attributed to himand also in the poetic nature of the dialogue he created. Many aphorisms, and enriching poetic descriptions and terms have been carried through from Shakespeare to common usage and to other literary works.

Contributions of Writers to Development of Africa

Education does not only drive the development of any society but also provides knowledge, skills and enlightenment for individuals. The knowledge, skills and enlightenment that individuals acquire are provided for in books. Fellows of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) and other Learned Associations on the continent, the Pan African Association of Writers (PAWA) and the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) in this regard have contributed immensely to the development of our African and Ghanaian societies through books written to be used in all strata of education and to help formulate policies for growth and development. I have a firm belief that books are the basic ingredients for the education of all of us gathered in this hall today and millions across the length and breadth of the African continent. Reading these books has in no small way produced the skilled human resource which is spearheading the growth and development of many countries on the continent. There are however some deviants who instead of using the knowledge and skills positively have rather defrauded innocent people with their knowledge and skills.

Contributions of our celebrant A.R.K. Awolugutu to the development of Ghana

In the context of our celebrant today, A.R.K. Awolugutu, his writings in the columns of the Heritage Newspaper, which he has compiled into motivational pamphlets and books, have contributed to national development through supporting personal and spiritual growth, identifying issues, and solving problems.

Supporting personal and spiritual growth
The human resource of any nation is the best asset hence many nations including Ghana spend an enormous part of their resources in building the capacity of their human resource to enable them deliver on their development agenda. Human beings as we all know are made of body, soul, and spirit irrespective of our religious beliefs and inclinations. Consequently, any writing that is geared to making the human resource play its material and spiritual roles in a balanced manner will contribute to the well being and progress of a nation. The writings of our celebrant such as 'The Substance of Life' and the 'Power of Prayer' have contributed to enhancing this balancing act.

Identifying issues
Every human being aims at being successful in any field of endeavour. Students want to pass their examinations from the first cycle through the second to the tertiary levels of education. Employees want to progress in their chosen carriers to the highest attainable levels. In their aspirations of achieving success many people try to use many means whether fair or foul. There is however no syllabus in the curriculum of schools and colleges that teaches success as a subject. It is in this light that writings on 'Success Principles' and 'The Seeds for Sustainable Success' identify major issues that we need to focus on in our quest to become successful in our chosen fields of endeavour.

Solving problems
Ghana's democratic dispensation hinges on effective linkages among The Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. After the Executive introduce bills, the Legislature will pass these bills into laws (i.e. Acts of Parliament) to guide the growth and development of the country. These laws need to be enforced by the law enforcement agencies. Any deviations from the accepted norms will be dealt with by the Judiciary and where offending nationals are sentenced to various terms the correction officers must be available to help reform the offending nationals in the various correction centres. The writing that is aimed at educating correction officers comes in handy to train correction staff to play this useful role of helping to reform offending nationals who find themselves at the wrong side of the law to become better citizens is a notable contribution to our democratic dispensation.

Conclusion
Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) an English author, courtier and philosopher said 'Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man'. Let us all who are gathered here today to witness this book launch and others who will be informed of this programme through various print and electronic media resolve to improve our reading so that together we can make the uncomplimentary saying that 'If you want to hide anything from the black man, put it in a book' no longer tenable and a thing of the past.

BY
PROF. G.K.S. AFLAKPUI, FGA
RECTOR, WA POLYTECHNIC

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