UNESCO Connecting Culture And Wealth Of Ghana Through Power Of Reading

Inculcating the culture of reading among the youth is good and very important, because it improves focus, memory, empathy and communication skills. It can reduce stress, improve mental health and help a person to live longer.

Besides, reading allows a person to learn new things that help them to succeed in their work and relationships. In addition to these positives, reading helps to improve concentration, vocabulary expansion, enhances knowledge, as well as imagination and creativity.

A person who reads every day, gets better at it over time. Daily readers also gain more enjoyment from it than those that read less often. In the case of students for instance, reading improves their focus, memory, skills and self-esteem. The power of reading therefore, helps to develop inference, deduction and comprehension skills.

The lack of infusing and establishing a healthy reading culture among the Ghanaian youth today, is very worrying, disturbing and a problem that needs to be handled tactfully and seriously by parents, guardians, traditional authorities and the government. This must be done in a more vigorous, collaborative and an all inclusive manner to bring about the right attitude for reading among the youth of today, for a better tomorrow. It is on the basis of this unfortunate scenario, that one finds the decision by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, (UNESCO), to choose Ghana as the venue to host the 2023 World Book Capital, very timely and a positive initiative, that focuses on developing the book and creative arts. For a whole year, starting from April 24, 2023, UNESCO and World Book Capital Cities Network, will put the spotlight on the power of books and reading, as cornerstones of a more inclusive, equitable, peaceful and sustainable society in Accra, Ghana.

UNESCO and the book industry, including writers, authors and publishers, are indeed upbeat that the Accra World Book Capital 2023 project, will reinvigorate and promote the domestic book industry, re-imagine the concept of libraries, promote literacy and instill the culture of reading in the youth. The theme: “Reading to connect minds for Social Transformation,” is in line with UNESCO’s mission to build the defenses of peace in the minds of men and women. Ahead of the official opening of the event on Monday, April 24, 2023, the Minister of Education, is expected to open the year-long event at the Accra International Conference Center, where a wide array of important international personalities, including the Diplomatic community, UNESCO Representatives from Africa and the Paris Headquarters, Directors from the United Nations Agencies ,development partners would be in attendance.

Accra was chosen for the event ahead of other cities because its programmatic focus was on young people and their ability to contribute to the culture and wealth of Ghana through the power of reading.

Accra, therefore becomes the fourth city in Africa to receive this title since 2001, making the vibrant city part of the prestigious World Book Capital Cities Network. Indeed, there is the urgent need for Teachers, Parents and Guardians to inculcate the habit and reading culture into their children at an early age to help create lifelong learners for our dear nation, Ghana. It is a fact that if more children begin to read and understand by age 10, that will translate into positive learning outcomes, which will result in socio-economic transformation. Like the Education Minister rightly alluded, it was time to get our children to read for fun and should not be seen as something that is required by schools. It is a fact that literacy is the bridge to the development of prosperity in every nation and that any country which does not create an environment for children to read and understand by age 10, is likely to have problems.

This particular event is very important in the history of Ghana, since it is the first time we have the opportunity to host such a magnitude of an assignment to impact Ghanaian society. This is the reason, we need collaboration and collective thinking among stakeholders in education and culture to make the year-long event successful.

We expect organizers of this great event to make room for the visually impaired to participate fully in this noble exercise, since they are part of the larger society and therefore should not be left out in Programmes that will insure to the benefit of the entire nation. They deserve to be encouraged to use the braille as a medium of communication when it comes to the crusade of encouraging the youth to read.

The venue for such an all- important event is commendable and we must do everything possible to encourage the youth to read good books regularly, for a better future.

Written By: Raymond Tuvi, A Journalist.

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