Move to Transform confab held at UG
In a conscious effort to transform inmates' lives, a revolutionary conference dubbed "Move to Transform" was held to share insights on the impact of dance on juvenile inmates' mental health.
Attended by theatre and dance experts, prison officers, and students, the conference served as an intervention for psychosocial safety and sought solutions to enhance juvenile inmates' mental health through dance.
The conference, themed "Exploring Non-Formal Dance Education as a Framework for Behavioral and Social Development in Juvenile Correctional Institutions in Ghana," featured experts in dance and correctional management as panelists.
The conference was also an MFA final-year presentation by Miss Ewurafua Biney, a postgraduate candidate in the University of Ghana (UG) Department of Dance Studies. She envisions dance as the hidden language of the soul and movement as a healing therapy for juvenile inmates.
She observed these transformative traits during her "Move to Transform" project with juvenile inmates at the Senior Correctional Centre in Accra. She is optimistic that, through movement, inmates stand a greater chance of rewriting their stories to become reformed citizens.
Panelists at the conference included ASP Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah and ASP Bismark Bodi of the Ghana Prisons Service, as well as Mr. Evans Kofi Mati, Vivian Boateng, and Sarfoa Boahene, all dance experts who shared in-depth knowledge on the impact of dance on juvenile inmates.
Miss Ewurafua Biney recalled that when she began her master's program, she knew dance was an area of interest to focus on, and she intended to pursue research in the form of dance advocacy.
"I have always believed that dance is more than a performance or entertainment and is a powerful tool for education, communication, healing, and social transformation," she revealed.
According to her, the conference served as a platform for dialogue to explore how non-formal dance education could become part of rehabilitation efforts in Ghana.
"The project was in two sessions: the first was held at SCC, while the second edition of the conference was held at UG," she explained.
She added that the insights shared through the panel discussions would contribute to a practical framework for future practice, research, and policy.
During the panel discussion, Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP) Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah, a Public Relations Officer with the Service, noted that in juvenile correctional institutions, non-formal dance education is pivotal in correctional management and serves as a tool for rehabilitation, expression, and reintegration.
He stated that dance equips inmates to regulate their emotions and alleviate anger because dance helps to stabilize their moods so they can live cordially without qualms.
ASP Ankrah added that dance in juvenile correctional institutions builds teamwork and discipline, which are key components of choreography and can help build inmates' self-esteem.
Also speaking, ASP Bismark Bodi noted that rehabilitation is about far more than teaching employable skills. Hence, dance is necessary as a form of non-formal education for inmates.
"Many of the young people who enter correctional centres carry emotional wounds that cannot simply be addressed through classroom lessons," he said.
"These young people carry trauma. You cannot always solve that through maths or science. Rehabilitation must go beyond the hands; it must reach the mind, the heart, and the soul," he stressed, highlighting the need for dance education for inmates.
He further mentioned that dance allows them to express what they cannot say.
"For that moment, they are free. They are not thinking about their problems, they are just present," he observed.
Rather than seeing dance as entertainment, Mr. Bodi described it as a form of somatic healing, using movement to process emotions stored within the body.
Mr. Evans Kofi Mati, Madam Vivian Boateng, and Madam Sarfoa Boahene were of the view that juvenile inmates should be given the platform to showcase their skills through dance education.
They noted that this would enable juvenile inmates to communicate their struggles during dance education.