LET'S APPRECIATE DIFFERENCES IN CULTURE (Page 20)

Story: Vincent Adedze, Dalun

THE Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Adris, has stated that culture is a valuable resource that must be recognised and used to promote the region’s tourism sector, as well as the nation’s development agenda.
“Many conflicts, small and violent, have occurred due to lack of understanding and appreciation of the differences in cultures; as a nation we can only develop if we recognise that our individual cultures are different hence we must respect them and use them for the benefit of society,” Alhaji Adris further noted.
The minister said this in a speech read on his behalf at the Denmark Seminar of the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) at Dalun in the Tolon-Kumbungu District.
It was under the theme: “Art and culture in development”.
The seminar was aimed at among other objectives deliberating on relevant issues with a view to creating and increasing public awareness on those issues that are related to the development of rural communities.
Participants at the seminar discussed such issues as the role of art and culture in development, the significance of Danish culture in contemporary Denmark, significance of Dagbani art and symbolism and culture, technology and challenges of cultural development in Ghana.
According to Alhaji Idris, the role of culture in our development cannot be overemphasised because culture is the symbolism of our perceptions, predisposition, attitudes and behaviours.
He further stated that our culture was underpinned by our values which we had learnt from significant places, including our homes, schools and workplaces.
“In fact, we should expect differences in culture from one person to another and from one community to another; we should also know that culture is dynamic and can be used to accelerate development,” the minister stressed.
Alhaji Adris observed that the positive things about culture must be promoted, and cautioned against what he described as African punctuality.
According to him, the nation’s prosperity was linked to time management, which was the most crucial ingredient in development.
The Chairman of the GDCA, Professor Abubakr Al-Hassan, noted that his outfit had made significant impact on the socio-economic lives of the people and commended the media for supporting the GDCA to make known to the public the successes chalked up so far.
“The response we have received from the public so far demonstrates that we, together with our Danish friends, are delivering the right services and making great impacts on the lives of people in our communities,” the chairman further observed.
A spokesperson for the Danish delegation to the seminar, Madam Lis Brandt, expressed the group’s sympathies to the disaster victims in the three northern regions.
She underscored the importance of arts and culture in the socio-economic development of the country including the promotion of human rights issues, peace and reconciliation.