This year’s World Book Capital will be held in Ghana with the intention of fostering a reading culture there.
The program, which would begin on April 23, would feature a number of events, such as marathon reading sessions, traffic jams, spelling bees, reading competitions, and creative writing contests. The subject of it is “Reading to connect minds for social transformation.”
Following examination by the World Book Capital Advisory Committee, the executive board of UNESCO named Accra the World Book Capital 2023 at its 215th session in Paris, France, on September 22, 2021.
Accra joined the esteemed World Book Capital Cities Network as the fourth African city to receive the designation since 2001.
At a news briefing before to the event, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, said the choice showed the organisation’s acknowledgment of continuing changes in the creative arts sector in Ghana and the rest of Africa.
Cities chosen to serve as UNESCO World Book Capitals are required to organise events aimed at promoting reading among people of all ages and demographic categories both inside and outside the boundaries of the host country.
The Minister stated that the World Book Capital initiative by UNESCO recognised the value of reading and books as pillars of a more inclusive, equal, tranquil, and sustainable society.
He claimed that the nation shares this goal and understands the importance of removing obstacles to equity and inclusivity in all spheres of society life.
In order to improve learning outcomes, he emphasized, government had implemented initiatives such as making secondary education free, building more schools and STEM Centers, creating customised curricula at all levels, and raising teacher quality.
The use of digital technology to enhance accessibility, equity, and inclusiveness, according to Dr. Adutwum, was one of the sustainable solutions the government had tried to put into place.
According to him, the Accra World Book Capital offered a clear opportunity for stakeholders and development partners to intensify their coordinated efforts in order to make significant advancements towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets.
In order to increase our knowledge, he urged everyone to develop the habit of reading, adding that “Books transform the minds, and the mind transforms society.”
According to research, 87% of Ghanaian Primary 2 students could not read in 2015.
Government actions, particularly the National Standard Test, had caused the tendency to rise to 38%.
He claimed that the nation has made advances in literacy development through play, poetry readings, drum language, dance, and choral music as part of the national cultural festival.
According to him, this was crucial to achieving Accra World Book Capital’s objectives and provided pupils with the chance to effectively communicate through a variety of representations.
The UNESCO representative in Ghana, Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo, promised to rally all allies to support the reading promotion event.
The event, according to Accra’s mayor, Mrs. Elizabeth Tawiah Sackey, will encourage reading and have a good influence on Ghanaian culture, helping the country accomplish its objective of becoming a learning nation.