Ghanaā€™s creative arts ā€œthrivingā€; ā€œour kente now African identity symbolā€ ā€“ Akufo-Addo

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President Nana Akufo-Addo has said Ghanaā€™s creative arts industry is thriving.

Speaking at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium at the 63rd independence anniversary celebration in Kumasi, Ashanti Region on Friday, 6 March 2020, the President said: ā€œThe creative arts are thriving, and there are exciting things to interest a wide range of peopleā€.

The fashion scene, he said, ā€œis vibrant, and unearths new talent every dayā€.

ā€œTake a look around this stadium today, and feast your eyes on the riot of colours and the wide variety of styles that our kente weavers can conjure.

ā€œEvery day, this ancient, royal, eye-catching, beautiful fabric is reinvented to win over new generations. The kente, of course, has crossed over our borders and is no longer exclusively Ghanaian, but the symbol of identity for peoples of African descent everywhereā€, the President noted.

 

He observed that: ā€œOur designers, tailors, and dressmakers keep Ghanaian-made clothes in the top range of attractive clothesā€, adding: ā€œArt galleries are alive with established and new painters and sculptors, and there are signs of their innovative works all around usā€.

ā€œWe have always been known for musical talent, and this generation is keeping up the traditionā€.

The President also urged Ghanaians to keep being Ghanaian in this election year.

ā€œFellow Ghanaians, there is renewed confidence in our foods and a strong belief in the things that define us as Ghanaians. We have always been known for arguments and debates, and, in an election year, it is predictable that the decibel level would go up. That is what we are currently experiencing, but, as the saying goes, even as the arguments get louder, we keep a keen lookout for each otherā€™s eyes.

ā€œThere is an Akan proverb that says: ā€˜Omanni ko, y3ko a, y3keka nwi so; yenntutu ase?ā€™. When we fight as members of a community or family, we bite off hair; we do not uproot it. In other words, in our gravest moments of fury, we strive to avoid bloodshed.

ā€œThe consensus is holding for all of us to work towards the prosperous, peaceful and happy Ghana we want. We all recognise that the responsibility we carry as the first sub-Saharan colonial country to gain independence is not simply to build a successful country. We owe it to the rest of the continent and the black race to demonstrate that, indeed, we can build and run a successful, prosperous and happy country. This is a task we do not shirk, and which all Ghanaians acceptā€, he said.

Source: Ghana Today online

Rider Rally Launched – To Start On Independence Day

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Fever Pitch, a Sports Development and Talent Management Company, Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) have launched the maiden edition of the Rider Rally at a short ceremony.

Rider Rally is a series of long-distance Motor Bike endurance events of similar distances over intentionally mapped routes, meandering on asphalted roads, dirt-roads, foot-paths, hilly & mountainous terrain, forest reserves with custom-pit-stops at strategic Tourist sites. The maiden cross country Biking event comes off on Independence day, 6th March and it starts from Ghana – Togo Border at Aflao and ends at Ghana – Cote D’Ivoire border at Elubo on the 9th March. The three (3) day event is to serve as a precursor for a 13-week Biking Expedition which is expected to be climaxed at the end of May 2020. The mapped route for the Bikers will include Tourist sites and communities where Bikers will engage in culturally immersive activities.

 

Speaking at the launch, the CEO of the Ghana Tourism Development Company indicated his outfit’s and that of Tourism Authority’s readiness to support unique but exciting sports tourism product. He said the growing interest in the sport by the middle class bodes well for the sport and it was for this reason of using the sport to promote Tourism and specifically Tourist sites that the GTDC and GTA came on board to support the event referencing the Ghana – Centre of the World Golf Tournament, another Sports Tourism product.

Mr. Daniel Ashrifie, a Biker and a Biking Instructor said he is on a mission to change the perception about Biking and Bikers in society hence his Biking training school and also advocated for responsible Biking. He commended his colleague Biker, Thomas Esiape JnrĀ aka JET for spearheading the Bikerslivesmatter initiative which is shaping the masses by doing the necessary to get into the inherent cognitive and perceptual powers of the mind of non-bikers who see Bikers as hazardous or dangers to society, criminals and hooligans.

In attendance were Bikers including pretty actress Nikki Samonas and Biker Groups. There were solidarity messages from Stephanie Benson and other celebrity Bikers. Balloting was done for the Teams taking part in the first event on Independence Day.