The government will also commence a programme for establishing fully functional Centres for National Culture in all regional capitals.

This was revealed by Hon. Mrs Catherine Afeku, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture who was the Guest of Honour at the Ghana Culture Day organised by the Ghana Culture Forum last Tuesday at the National Theatre.

Looking obviously excited about the day, she said “I am delighted to be here this morning on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Ghana Culture Forum. I applaud the founders of this great initiative and I can assure you of my Ministry’s continuous support in achieving the set goals of this Forum.

“I find the theme for this year’s celebration that is: ‘60th Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence: Cultural Re-orientation for the birth of a new Ghanaian’ very apt.

This is because as we celebrate our 60th anniversary as a nation, it is important for us to pause and take stock of our cultural heritage by examining how far we have come as a people and where we are going.

“How do we position ourselves culturally as a people in the face of globalisation and the fast pace of technological advancement? This is a collective challenge to us as a country that we need to take urgent steps so that we do not get the Ghanaian authentic cultural values diluted by the effect of these challenges’, she said.

 According to Mrs Afeku, culture is an important element in tourism development, but its principal importance is in the enrichment of our own lives.

“My ministry will assist less endowed traditional authorities to document their culture and history so as to bring to the fore the full range of Ghana’s cultural tapestry.

The development and support for our national culture will take into consideration our unity in diversity and recognise the value of culture as an instrument for validating ourselves as an African people, apart from celebrating our intrinsic cultural systems to showcase their richness to the rest of the world,” she said.

The Special Guest of Honour at the event, Hon. Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Senior Minister, Office of the President started his keynote address on a rather emotional mood paying tribute to his late brother, Santo, a popular actor who has passed on.

He stressed on the need to pay attention to our culture, “We cannot do anything without culture, as a nation, we need to pay a lot of attention to our culture and ask ourselves what we can do to place Ghana on a different pedestal,” he said.

Other activities marking the occasion included an interactive forum where there were questions and comments by participants.

There were also performances by the Ghana Concert Party Union, Models Union of Ghana, National Drama Company, Ehalakasa and the National Dance Company.

The Ghana Culture Day was instituted in 2012 at the official launch of the Ghana Culture Forum, an advocacy platform consisting of the widest scope of cultural practitioners, activists and organisations.