Globalizing Cultural Festivals for Progress

By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong, Ghanadot

Cultural festivals have become a development issue in Ghana. From the private to the public sector, there are increasing debates and attempts to appropriate cultural festivals for progress. The talks are Ghana-wide and indicate the importance of strategizing these aspects of the Ghanaian culture for progress. From the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Cultural Affairs to the Ministry of Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Accra has been attempting to appropriate cultural festivals for progress.

Not to be outdone, some businesses have been developing out of the need to tap the huge untapped Ghanaian culture festivals for profit. The developmental strategy, as public and private sectors activities demonstrate, is how to turn as broadly as possible and as many as possible the large number of Ghanaian values into economic festivals for prosperity in a competitive manner locally and globally.

The attempt is to move beyond the conventional and exploit cultural values for progress is task that must be done as part of poverty alleviation. This should reflect not only an expanded developmental thoughts but also part of the broader trend globally, where, in some cities, villages, towns, regions, and countries, cultural festivals bring in large amount of revenue. In a 2005 report from Canada’s sleepy, small-sized City of Ottawa cultural festivals generated well over $40 million (Canadian dollars) for both public and private sectors. This is a tip on the ice-berg compared to other Canadian places. The City of Ottawa and other Canadian places exploit any conceivable multicultural value for economic-driven festivals: In Ottawa festivals year round. Samples: Photographic, Beer, Art and Craft, International Jazz, Caribbean, Animation, Chamber Music, Franco-Ontarien, Wine, Folk, Fringe, Tulip/Flowers, among lists of cultural festivals. All these are drawn from Canadian multiculturalism, and they are constantly being expanded by the growing Canadian multicultural society.

Drawing similar inference from the Ghanaian culture, apart from the already known high-level cultural festivals such as Homowo, Yam, Akwasidae, Dodoleglime, Aboakyer, and Fao, Ghanaian cultural elites could work with the various private and public sectors to expand the already known cultural festivals by including new festivals. The economic contention is not how “Ghanaian festivals are colourful and vibrant” and that “each year festivals and durbars are held in various parts of the country, to celebrate the heritage of the people,” as a blurb at www.ghanaweb.com touts, the real issue is how to strategize so that the cultural festivals expand, in the climate of the on-going African Renaissance process, as an economic driven issue, and project Ghanaian heritage as a prosperity venture.   

New cultural festivals? Yes! From where? From Ghanaian cultural values and traditions nation-wide: from villages to towns to regional capitals to the national capital. Samples: Annual Pan-Ghana Foods Festival; Traditional Medicine Festival; Shea Butter Festival; Soups Festival; Kelewele Festival; Fufu Festival; Kenkey Festivals; Banku Festival; Fugu Festival; Pan-Ghana Indigenous Cloths Festival; Kente Festival; Pan-Ghana Unity Ethnic Groups Festival; Farmers Festival; Cocoa Festival; Gold Festival; Tro Tro Festival; Palm Wine Festival, Pito Festival; Akpeteshie Festival; Indigenous Ghanaian Religion Festival; Pan-Ghana History Festival; Pan-Ghana Geography Festival; Pan-Ghana Indigenous Science and Technology Festival; Women Festival; Pan-Ghana Youth Festival; Indigenous Music Festival; Pan-Ghana Churches Festival; Ghanaian Languages Festival; and Ghanaian Heroes and Heroines Festival, among others.

Most of these could be staged from the village to the town to the regional capital to the national capital to global capitals, where diasporan Ghanaians numbers are reasonable, to sell Ghanaian cultural values. This can be done by Accra linking with the over 2 million transnational Ghanaian population and their associations and helping them strategize both locally and globally. The idea is to unearth Ghanaian values and traditions for progress both locally and globally. The sense is to think through Ghanaian norms and traditions, with the help of the global development processes, for progress; mixing the local with the global, where possible. It is here that the increasing Ghanaian diasporan community, the Tourism and Diaspora Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry could come in, helping to strategize and project such festivals both locally and globally.

It is common throughout the year in Canadian newspapers to read various diplomatic missions writing advertorial pieces about their respective countries’ local cultural festivals and heritages for the growing Canadian tourists to visit their countries to enjoy these festivals. Accra could copy this as part of the broader development process of Ghana. There is more to tap into the cultural values and traditions for progress than meet the eyes and ears.

Kofi Akosah-sarpong, Canada, July 19, 2007