Managing Director of Kacstone Records and Chairman of the Paga Youth Movement, Wenawome Duriyem Aborah, is urging people with resources in the Upper East Region to invest more in culture, entertainment and tourism rather than focusing solely on ventures that offer immediate financial returns.
He believes the region’s cultural identity can be packaged to compete on a wider market and attract visitors, investment and opportunities for young people.
Mr Aborah said the Upper East and Northern Ghana possess diverse cultural traditions that are not receiving the level of exposure they deserve because of weak investment, inadequate infrastructure and poor packaging.
Speaking on A1 Radio on “Turning Culture into Employment: Adapting the Local Way,” he said the region must learn to present its cultural products in a way that makes them attractive to audiences beyond the region.
“It is about time we ourselves package ourselves and throw it to the world.”
He said he invested in quality LED screens, sound and other event equipment partly because he wanted the region to have the infrastructure needed to stage events that could meet the standards seen in Accra and Kumasi.
According to him, differences in the quality of events between Northern Ghana and the southern part of the country are often less about the content and more about branding, equipment and presentation.
He said having access to quality equipment within the region would reduce the need to bring such services from Accra and would also help create employment for young people.
Mr Aborah said he had trained young people in Paga to manage the equipment, giving them an opportunity to earn a livelihood from the events industry.
He acknowledged that such investment may not always generate immediate financial returns, but said he considered the wider benefit to the region more important.
“I encourage many more people to invest into it.”
He urged people with resources to consider themselves part of the process of building the region, rather than looking only at the immediate benefits they can obtain from their investments.
“Don’t just look at the immediate benefit that you want to benefit with your family. But create avenues for other youth to emulate from you.”
Mr Aborah also called for greater regional cooperation in promoting culture, arguing that cultural differences within the Upper East should become a source of unity and tourism rather than division.
He said communities should be encouraged to participate in cultural events across the region so that residents can learn about and appreciate one another’s traditions.
He further called for greater attention to local languages and traditions, arguing that communities must preserve their cultural identity while also finding common ground for regional development.
According to him, the Upper East can draw lessons from regions and countries that have successfully packaged their cultural identity as a tourism brand.
He cited the Volta Region as an example of a region that has deliberately positioned itself around tourism and urged the Upper East to develop a similarly clear identity.
Mr Aborah also believes the region’s landscape and seasonal characteristics could be used to develop distinctive tourism events during the rainy and dry seasons, creating opportunities for traders, entertainers and other businesses.
He said the region’s tourism potential must therefore be treated as an economic opportunity rather than merely as a cultural resource.
Source: Bolgafmonline.com| 102.7 MHz| Bolgatanga
