By Hafsa Obeng/Emelia Nkrumah
Accra, July 17, GNA – Nana Otuo Owuahene Acheampong, Executive Director for National Commission on Culture (NCC), has urged teachers and parents to educate children on Ghanaian culture to promote and project traditions through storytelling and folksongs.
He said storytelling was one of the most powerful means that leaders used to influence, teach and inspire, as it made learning more effective and forged connection among students.
Speaking at the Adesa Village storytelling and folksongs school competition in Accra, Mr Acheampong said in the current times of
enhanced digital connectivity, social stories had gained wide and viral popularity as political, social and business leaders used the power of social stories to communicate their messages, demonstrate their vision and actions and get the public to engage with them.
Throwing more light on the objective of storytelling and folksongs, Mr Acheampong said it was to inspire young individuals and children within the society to use their imagination to convey cultural values and motivate them to take actions.
“Is of no doubt that whether we sit in our homes listening to our children tell an interesting story or at school listening to our teachers telling a story or plot twist by using imaginary, such stories have the power to captivate, engage and cause us to think and act accordingly to the norms and traditions of the society,” he added.
He reiterated the need for the current generation to be aware of the workings and events of the
world around them to tell their own authentic stories and inspire people to take actions from their stories.
He said another defining feature of many modernized teaching was the telling of stories through the art of folk music.
Mr Acheampong said storytelling and folksongs were important in preserving the traditions and heritage of the country, adding that they also provided valuable insight and understanding of various aspect of life.
He, therefore, encouraged students to showcase their exceptional abilities in order for their parents and teachers to be proud of them.
Madam Alice Alima Kala, Director, Centre for National Culture (CNC), Greater Accra Region, said the emergence of new trends of fashion, foods, other forms of social activities and life styles across the globe had influenced most youth to lose touch with very important practices
of the tradition, value and norms of the culture.
She added that there was the need for awareness creation to educate the youth on the importance and beauty of the Ghanaian culture.
Madam Kala said storytelling by our forefathers was not only to entertain and educate but also to instill moral cultural values into the citizenry.
She said in the quest to rekindle the spirit of storytelling and folksongs, her outfit as part of its mandate organised and inculcated storytelling in children from primary schools to develop hidden talents of the youth and expose young children to the rich Ghanaian culture.
She said, “our main aim and focus as an institution is to promote, develop and sustain cultural and artistic excellence, hence ‘Adesa Village’, to help bring out the fading cultural norms such as riddles, proverbs, music and dance, among others.”
GNA