By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, Dec 24, GNA – The Cape Coast Centre for National Culture (CNC) on Friday held a glamourous awards and dinner night to crown the celebration of the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC), which ended successfully in the Region.
The night was to appreciate the efforts of all staff of the Centre and honour some selected executives and staff for their special contributions to the success event.
Madam Agnes Bosomtwe and Mr Moses Okyere, both retirees of the Centre, were honoured for their unconditional commitment towards the promotion and development of arts and culture.
They received undisclosed amounts of money and a citation each, which read in part; “Your hard work, tenacity, intelligence and due diligence made the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC @ 60) celebration very successful in the Central Region”.
In all, 28 persons, including Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, the Central Regional Minister, were awarded.
Others were Madam Janet Edna Nyame, Executive Director, National Commission on Culture (NCC), Dr Richardson Commey, Director of Policy Planning, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, NCC, and Mr Jason Otoo, leader of the resident cultural troupe, Folkloric.
The Folkloric group also picked an award in addition to GHS10,000 cash donation from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for an exceptional display during the official opening of the Festival.
Madam Salamatu Alhassan, the Central Regional Director, CNC, said the awards and dinner was organised to motivate the staff to work harder for the growth of the centre and realisation of its vision.
“The organisation of the festival was in limbo at a point and we would not have been able to organise it successfully if we were not having a very supportive staff ,” she noted.
She showered praises on the two retirees for their selflessness, humility and dedication to the work.
“They have trained people and those people are now training others. Even though they are retired, they came on board to help us organise the festival and they contributed immensely.”
She urged the youth to learn from the sacrifices of their predecessors.
NAFAC, Ghana’s biggest cultural festival, is celebrated biennially on rotational basis to provide a platform to showcase the diversity and richness in the country’s ethnic and regional cultures to stimulate peace and unity.
The last time the Central Region hosted the event was in 1996, some 26 years ago.
This year’s celebration marked the 60th anniversary of the event on the theme: “Reviving Patriotism, Peace and Unity through Cultural Diversity for Sustainable Development”.
Delegations of chiefs, performers and exhibitors from all 16 regions of the country converged on Cape Coast to mark the event.
The next edition would be held in the Bono East Regional Capital, Techiman, in 2024.
Meanwhile, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, the Oguaamanhen, has proposed to the organisers to make it an annual event considering its enormous benefits to the Ghanaian culture and national development.
GNA