By Emmanuel Nyatsikor
Adaklu Kodzobi (V/R), Oct. 30 GNA – Madam Betsy Benoit, a Founding Partner, who serves as the Project Lead of Hidden Story Project and Campfire Tales, Friday stated that the rich African traditional storytelling should not be viewed only as entertainment.
She said traditional storytelling carried valuable lessons about respect, unity, courage, honesty, responsibility and peaceful coexistence.
“Through it, moral values were taught; the younger generations were educated about their origins, customs and identity,” she said.
Mad Benoit, who led a four-member delegation of the Project from USA stated this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Adaklu Kodzobi.
The delegation is in the country for the launch of the pilot programme of the Project at Adaklu Kodzobi.
The Hidden Story Project is founded by Madam Benoit and Weston Cox, the Technology Lead.
It is a collaborative cultural and educational initiative that connects local communities, technology developers and storytelling educators to preserve and share personal narratives.
Madam Benoit noted that storytelling which was an essential part of the African heritage through which their ancestors preserved history and passed on wisdom was now missing in Ghanaian communities.
She continued that the Project would help revive that noble initiative through which the struggles, achievements, experiences and wisdom of those who came before them were learnt.
The Project Lead said the revival of storytelling in communities would also help the younger generations to know where they came from and guided them in determining where they wanted to go as people.
She stated that the African history and traditions deserved to be heard, respected and preserved adding that the Project would offer an opportunity for elders of communities to share their experiences, traditional knowledge and historical accounts with the youth.
Madam Benoit assured that stories collected through the initiative would be handled with respect for the customs, values and wishes of the people who shared them.
She hoped the project would strengthen the relationship between the community and institutions and individuals working to preserve their cultural identity.
The Project Lead stated that children selected from the community would serve as Ambassadors for the Project.
TomorrowLabs develops the multilingual technology and digital preservation tools for the Project while Campfire Tales leads the story discovery workshops and coaching.
PROOF Media For Social Justice acts as the fiscal sponsor and Partner and Friends of Adaklu provides local knowledge and community connections in Adaklu, Ghana.
The Ho Technical University contributed the Ghanaian language expertise and supported linguistic and cultural interpretations for the Project.
Mr Ryan Mcabery, Madam Birdie Grimes and Madam Angel Cardona were the other members of the delegation.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Benjamin Mensah