Ghana Book festival scheduled for September 21

The Ghana Association of Writers (GAW), on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the West Maple Multimedia Company Limited to provide media consultancy for a book festival scheduled for 21 September this year in Accra.

The festival dubbed: “GAWBOFEST” and under the auspices of Vice President John Dramani Mahama, would raise the consciousness and encourage Ghanaians to read regularly.

Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, President of GAW, at the signing ceremony of the MOU in Accra, said ideas for the event was conceived due to the less reading habits of present day students as compared to students of the past.

He said the event would create public space for people to come together and read books, adding that some Ghanaian icons were invited to the programme to read to the hearing of the public.

Mr Gyan-Apenteng said that the event would involve exchanging of books, book reading, poetry recitals, face painting by kids among other things, to encourage students to read books.

He said the event would be held annually and expressed the hope that it would be replicated in all the ten regions of the country.

Mr Gyan-Apenteng called on parents to encourage their children to read books to broaden the thinking capacity for their development.

On the MOU, he said the company would contribute it expertise towards providing publicity and media coverage for the festival and expressed that hope that the two institutions would comply with the agreement.

Mrs Wilhelmina Dadson, General Manger in charge of Finance and Administration of the company, expressed the hope that the MOU would be the beginning of a lasting relationship for the development of the country’s human resource base.

She noted that with the advent of technological advancement, students mostly read on the internet neglecting the reading of books of authors like Professor Atukwei Okai, Abena Busia, Kofi Anyidoho, Efua Sutherland, Chinua Achebe, Wole Oguntokum, Gabriel Okara and Ola Rotimi.

Source: GNA