NCC, Tourism Ministry, GTA, partners to hold wear Ghana for job creation

The National Commission on Culture under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority(GTA), CeeJay Multimedia, and Aayalolo Festival will in March present its annual "Wear Ghana Festival 23.

The festival will seek to showcase and promote Ghana's cultural heritage and the local textiles. Themed, " Wear Ghana, for Jobs in Ghana", the 2023 edition will in addition to other objectives, recognize creativity in the fashion industry. Being its heartbeat to promote the growth and development of Ghanaian culture, the National Commission on Culture is committed to promoting national identity and wooing institutions to support local fabrics and accessories. In a press release signed by the Executive Director of the Commission, Mrs. Janet Edna Nyame copied to Soireenews.com indicated that through conscious efforts Ghanaians would be able to celebrate, preserve and uphold the integrity of the cultural traditions as well as the memories. The statement disclosed that "socio-cultural and economic researchers and scholars have indicated that clothing and fashion are key elements of a people's culture that reflect on people's history, customs, belief system, knowledge systems, communication and the general way of life. The Commission acknowledged that the clothing and fashion industries are increasingly becoming lead contributors to the economic growth of many countries around the globe adding that it is therefore critical that Ghanaian pay attention to the needs of the clothing industry in Ghana. "It must not be lost on us that one of the leading causes of economic downturns we are facing as a country is excess importation of used clothing and fabrics into the country. The question is, why are we not patronizing ours?", it quizzed. Since its inception in 2017, the National Commission on Culture has used the month of March to intensify advocacy and campaign for patronage of made-in-Ghana products including clothing, fashion, and accessories as well as fabrics. The Commission is leveraging the Wear Ghana festival to promote all locally made products and services, from food to herbal medicine which is known to have the potential to create jobs at the same time, boosting the Ghanaian economy. Activities lined up for this year's edition will feature everything made in Ghana ranging from clothing, fashion, accessories, and fabrics amongst others. According to the Commission, the 2nd week in March will be the theme week, the 6th March-Aayalolo festival and exhibition with CeeJay Multimedia, 3rd week in March will occasion outreach programs in schools while 4th week in March will be the NCC fashion flash, and the Wear Ghana on campus. The last week in March will witness the Fugu Hub exhibition as well as the Traditional exhibition slated for the last week of March and April. The Commission entreaties everyone to wear Ghana to every occasion as their quota to contribute to the promotion. The Commission bemoaned the excessive foreign infiltration of the Ghanaian culture with telenovelas which are dictating the fashion taste of Ghanaians especially, the young people, calling for conscious measures to address it. " We must therefore, as a people, take conscious measures to deal with the problem for it has dire consequences on our society", the statement said. The Commission added "the greatest attraction of a people is what they wear, which means we can portray our rich Ghanaian identity to the world through what we wear. Wear Ghana Festival has come to stay and is embraced by even tourists and corporate entities. Let's all wear Ghana, eat Ghana, feel Ghana, and experience Ghana and this will help alleviate poverty, create wealth and boost our economy towards national development. It would be exciting to see most Ghanaians join the train of wearing Ghana during March and beyond".