Ghananipa Project: Celebrating unsung heroes and documenting Ghana’s rich history

The Antique Lemonade Arts Foundation has launched the Ghananipa project, aimed at documenting and celebrating the lives of Ghanaians who have made significant contributions to their communities, families, and the nation.

Speaking at the press launch of the project at Dynaspace in Accra, Franka-Maria Andoh, Chair of the Antique Lemonade Arts Foundation, explained that the idea of Ghananipa was born out of a desire to showcase the stories of ordinary Ghanaians who have made a difference.

“The unique thing about Ghananipa is that our focus is not necessarily on the well-known and popular Ghanaian. We are interested, probably even more so, in documenting regular folk who made and are still making a difference in their communities and families,” she said.

She emphasized that the project is not just about documenting the past, but also about celebrating the present and inspiring future generations.

“Ghananipa seeks to remind us that citizens of this illustrious nation made a difference to family and community. People in the old days helped others become great men and women by taking them into their homes, supporting them, or offering opportunities,” she noted.

The Ghananipa website is a documentary platform that categorizes the stories of Ghanaians under different segments such as arts, sports, and science. Andoh explained that the website is user-friendly and easy to access, with plans to include documentaries, audio, and visuals in the future.

“We’ve made it quite simple, very user-friendly. You’re going to go into Ghana Nipah, you just put it in your Google search and it will come up. And then we have categorised all the people that we’ve documented under different segments,” she said.

The chair called on stakeholders, including corporates and creative arts foundations, to support the project, not just financially, but also with space, knowledge, and people.

“We encourage corporates and other creative arts foundations and organizations to come on board and support us. It doesn’t have to be money. You can support us with space. You can support us with knowledge. You can support us with people. Of course, money is also good,” she said.

The Ghananipa project is an initiative that has the potential to inspire a new generation of Ghanaians and promote a sense of national pride. With its focus on documenting the stories of ordinary Ghanaians, it is a project that is sure to resonate with people from all walks of life.