‘Institute National Holds Conference On Arts And Culture’

Vice Chairperson/Co-Convener of the Ghana Culture Forum, Akunu Dake, has called for the institution of a national conference on arts and culture to help find solutions to the challenges facing the industry.

He said the conference would aim at stemming the inertia, demoralisation, waning enthusiasm and lethargy that engulfed the institutions, staff and practitioners of the arts and culture industry.

Mr Dake, who is also the chief executive director of Heritage Development, an event management consult, was speaking at the 2017 annual general meeting of the Ghana Book Publishers Association (GBPA) in Accra.

He called for an immediate step towards the establishment of a council for the creative industry and the appointment of an executive secretary to advise government on the maximisation of the potential of the creative industry and regulates its development.

Mr Dake explained that one of the immediate tasks is to undertake baseline research on domains of the creative arts sector to achieve a compilation of a comprehensive inventory on cultural production units, enterprises, initiatives and actions towards raising resources and funds for the industry.

He said an inventory of key institutions, projects, programmes and models in the Ghanaian arts and culture sector and allied domains must also be undertaken.

Mr Dake said the promulgation of the Cultural Policy in 2004 is a great achievement for the industry, but the government least consulted it in the governance system.

He disclosed that the policy drew its authority from the Directive Principles of the Fourth Republic Constitution, which emphasised the necessity to integrate customary values into the fabric of national life.

Mr Dake said the policy defined culture as “the totality of the way of life evolved by our people through experience and reflection in our attempts to fashion a harmonious co-existence with our environment.”

The policy mentioned that “our culture manifests in our ideals and ideas, beliefs and values; folklore, environment, science and technology, and in forms of our political, social, legal and economic institutions.

“It also manifests in the aesthetic quality and humanistic dimensions of our literature, music, drama, architecture, carvings, paintings and other artistic forms.”

Mr Dake added that the policy aims to enhance the documentation and promotion of Ghana's traditional cultural values and the growth and development of cultural institutions to make them relevant to human development, democratic governance and national integration.