Tourism Minister calls for formalised engagement ahead of WIPO Conference

The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has directed stakeholders in Ghana’s creative sector to formalise their engagement with the Ministry through written submissions and structured communication.

She issued the directive on Wednesday at a meeting in Accra with representatives from the Writers Project Ghana, the Nubuke Foundation and the Foundation for Contemporary Art Ghana, held in preparation for an upcoming World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Conference on Intellectual Property scheduled for 22 to 24 June 2026.

She emphasised that verbal presentations alone are insufficient for proper policy consideration.

She stated that all proposals and representations from creative sector organisations must be formally documented before they can be considered by the Ministry.

She said written submissions were necessary to ensure proper review, institutional memory, and continuity in policy processes.

The Minister raised concerns about the weak institutional linkages that currently exist between creative sector organisations and the Ministry.

She warned that without formalised channels of communication, key stakeholders risked being excluded from major policy processes and international events that directly affected the sector.

She called on all creative sector organisations to take immediate steps to establish formal communication channels with the Ministry.

The conference is expected to address intellectual property frameworks relevant to Ghana’s creative industries, including issues of copyright, licensing and the protection of creative works.