Government takes steps to review the nation’s cultural policy – Minister

The government is taking steps to review the nation’s cultural policy to bring it in tune with changing trends – to provide for the protection of basic rights and human dignity, Ms. Barbara Oteng Gyasi, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, has announced.

She said a team of experts in the field of culture and other related sectors had been assembled for the purpose.

This was in an address read for her by Ms. Edna Nyame, a Director at the Ministry, at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Regional Conference on governance of cultural diversity.

“Governance of diversity: challenges and opportunities for sustainable development and peaceful co-existence in Africa” is the theme chosen for the two-day meeting in Accra.

It has brought together about 60 participants with diverse background – academics, experts, government officials, religious leaders, traditional rulers and youth organizations from across Africa
Ms. Oteng Gyasi noted that culture was never static – constantly evolving, and therefore, the need to critically assess and make changes.

Ghana has signed on to the International Conventions on Culture including the principles of respect human rights and fundamental freedoms

“Besides Government intends establishing heritage and cultural development to provide financial support for the promotion of Ghana’s heritage and culture,” she added

Mr. William Robinson, Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, highlighted the need to embrace cultural diversity, make determined efforts to bring back artifacts that were taken away by the colonial masters and the maintenance of the continent’s monuments and relics.

Mr. Benjamin Afful, a Director at the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, called for all to recognize that different cultures and nuances underlined their relationships as human beings

Source: GNA