By Priscilla Oye Ofori, GNA
Accra, Nov. 02, GNA- Mr Wakefield Wisdom Ackuaku, Executive Director of the National Commission on Culture (NCC), says the National Students Drama Festival (StuDraFest) is a strategic move to preserve Ghana’s cultural identity.
He said the strategy was through empowering the youth to tell their own stories.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the Festival in Accra, Mr Ackuaku said while the Commission was mandated to preserve, promote and develop Ghanaian culture, the most effective way to sustain norms, customs and national identity was by imparting them to the youth.
He noted that the youth were curious, active, innovative, and creative, but had for long not been challenged amidst exposure to foreign content on social media.
“They have at their disposal a lot of social media materials and platforms where they interface with other content. What happens to our local content?” he asked.
The Executive Director said the NCC therefore decided to harness the energies and innovation of students, touring schools in the 16 regions and tasking them to write their own scripts from five topical issues provided, do their own casting and direct their own productions.
“We want to see what they remember culturally. Is it just about dressing? Is it only about language? What costumes, what props, what dramatic devices were used?” he asked.
Mr Ackuaku explained that the productions revealed multiple creative skills, including scriptwriting, research, stagecraft and language use.
He cited examples including a school that staged a play questioning gender roles where the girl child washed dishes and swept while the boy did little, while others tackled contemporary issues such as galamsey and incidents at Obuasi Secondary Technical.
“We’ve given the youth of Ghana a voice through drama to tell their story, so they will proffer solutions that they believe will help resolve the issues,” he stated.
Mr Ackuaku said beyond entertainment, the festival built confidence, articulation, creativity and opened career paths in the creative arts, leading to job creation.
He, however, bemoaned the lack of corporate support, noting that logistics, including transporting students and teachers from various regions to Accra for this year’s edition, was expensive.
The Executive Director commended the Ghana Education Service for granting access to schools but called on Corporate Ghana and government to make the festival a national flagship programme.
He also called on stakeholders including the Linguistics and Theatre Arts departments, Pan African Writers Association of Ghana, Ghana Folklore Board, media and other agencies to come on board.
“Our doors are open. Come, let’s do it. It’s all for the betterment of Ghana,” he appealed.
The Executive Director said the festival aligned with the Black Star Experience initiative to ensure the youth were included in the year-round national activities.
He urged Ghanaians to support the NCC to promote cultural elements that identify Ghana beyond jollof, such as fugu and kente.
At the end of the Festival, Bolgatanga Senior High School emerged as winner of the 2026 edition.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade