By Christopher Tetteh
Sunyani, (Bono), Feb. 20, GNA – The Bonoman Institute, a civil society organisation has launched the ‘Bono Twi Project’ to facilitate official documentation, recognition and use of the ‘Bono Twi’ language.
The institute works to promote the holistic development of the Bono, and Bono Regions by helping to preserve and promote the diverse cultural heritage of the people.
At the launching of the project in Sunyani, Mr Kofi Okofo Dartey, the Dean, Bono Institute said the Institute was pushing the adoption and use of the Bono language, as an official local dialect in schools.
It was on the theme: “Language; Our identity, culture and way of life” and aimed at helping to sustain the Bono Twi which is an integral part of the Bono cultural heritage and identity of the Bonos.
Mr Dartey explained that the project sought to promote cultural values of the Bono people and their heritage, lineage, history, natural resources and tourism and harness the potential for economic growth and development.
The Bible Society of Ghana collaborated with the Institute and inaugurated basic reading materials printed in the “Bono Twi language”.
Mr Dartey explained that the Institute was established to bring together Bono people resident home and abroad, to share values and promote development.
“The focus of the Bono Twi Project is to promote the study, spoken and written of the language for academic pursuit,” he stated.
Other perspectives included preservation, sustainable and economic exploitation of natural resources, and inclusiveness of national resource distribution, economic empowerment, social infrastructural improvement, unity, peace and stability.
Mr Dartey noted that despite the rich endowments and potential, development of the regions had been ‘back and forth,’ expressing worry about limited social and economic infrastructure, high illiteracy and youth unemployment, low economic activities and incomes.
He said communal conflict, disunity and weak influences continued to bedevil the region, hence the need for the people to come together to fund lasting solutions to challenges inimical to the growth and development of the area.
Nana Okokyeredom Sakyi Arko II, the Vice-President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs gave the assurance that the House, would continue to support the Institute to achieve its vision for the regions and advised parents and students to embrace the project.
Mr William Kwasi Sabi, the Board Chairman of the Institute asked the chiefs and people of the region to be proud of their culture, saying the Institute was also working to become a centre for research.
GNA