By Yussif Ibrahim
Kumasi, May 21, GNA – The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Senior High School has been adjudged winners of the maiden edition of the ACE Spoken Words Inter-Schools Competition.
They beat off competition from Prempeh College, Osei Tutu Senior High School, and Yaa Asantewaa Girls Senior High School who emerged first, second and third runner-ups respectively, to clinch the ultimate prize.
The four schools made it to the grand finale held at the KNUST College of Engineering auditorium out of the 17 schools that participated in the contest.
The competition, which was put together by the American Corner Kumasi in collaboration with ACE Consult, offered a platform for young voices to express their creativity and thoughts on Ghana’s forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections through spoken words.
The goal, among others, was to build the confidence of young people in expressing themselves in public and bring out their hidden creative skills.
Representatives of the four schools were a delight to watch as they shared their in-depth knowledge on the history of Ghana’s democracy, the importance of participatory democracy, and the need for citizens to resist vote-buying.
They mesmerised the audience with their poetry prowess as they freely expressed themselves with captivating stories, intermittently drawing applause from the excited audience who could not help but appreciate their ingenuity.
Even more interesting was how some of them depicted the extreme some politicians could go in their quest for political power taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of the electorate.
They used the platform to highlight the power that citizens possess and the need to demand accountability after exercising their franchise at the polls.
Mr. Kevin Brosnahan, Press Attaché for the US Embassy in Ghana, said elections were very important to any democracy and that was why every four years, both the United States of America and Ghana go to the polls to elect leaders as part of their democratic processes.
He said elections provided opportunity for citizens to decide what they wanted for their future, saying that “That is what we do in a democracy.
We vote and sometimes we protest, and we take that power seriously because it is the most important thing we can do as citizens.”
Voting, he noted, went beyond showing up on election’s day to vote, but the opportunity it offered to determine who should be entrusted the power to lead based on their strengths and what they could offer to build a strong and resilient country.
Ms. Marilyn Owusu, Chief Executive Officer of ACE Consult, said the idea was to build strong, dynamic, eloquent, assertive, and creative young people who would be able to express themselves in any endeavour.
She said as the next generation of leaders, it was important to test their knowledge on the political history of Ghana and build their confidence in public speaking as they transitioned to take the leadership mantle in the near future.
GNA