The Ghanaian capital city, Accra, has been named as the UNESCO world book capital for 2023.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced the choice in a post on Twitter, revealing Accra joins the prestigious world book capital cities network.
“I am happy to inform you that Accra has been named the UNESCO world book capital for 2023, making our vibrant city part of the prestigious world book capital cities network,” the President tweeted on Monday, October 10th 2022.
“This is an acknowledgement of the giant strides that Ghana and Africa are making in developing our book and creative art industry and we thank you for your diverse contribution that made this possible,” he added.
This is an acknowledgement of the giant strides that Ghana and Africa are making in developing our book and creative art industry and we thank you for your diverse contribution that made this possible.
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) October 10, 2022
Cities designated as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Book Capital undertake to carry out activities with the aim of encouraging a culture of reading and diffusing the values of reading in all ages and population groups within and outside the designated host nation’s borders.
Through the World Book Capital programme, UNESCO acknowledges the city’s commitment to promoting books and fostering reading during the 12-month period between one World Book and Copyright Day and the next.
Education Must Remain A Priority For Global Development – President Akufo-Addo
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, charged Member States of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to ensure that education remains a priority in the common development agenda of countries.
As the recently appointed Domestic Financing champion of the Global Partnership for Education, President Akufo-Addo sought the co-operation and support of UNESCO “to work towards developing sustainable homegrown financial solutions, so we can develop the educational system for the future we want in our various countries.”
Addressing the 215th Meeting of the Executive Board of UNESCO, on Monday, 10th October 2021, in Paris, France, the President noted that the world does not have the luxury to pick and choose which crises it wants to fix.
“At this moment, we cannot pick and choose between funding guns and education. We cannot pick and choose between the interests of the present generation and the future of our girls and boys. We cannot choose geopolitical concerns over preserving our cherished cultural heritages, lest we perish universally,” he said.
Due to global instability, however, President Akufo-Addo noted that, education has become one of many competing priorities of domestic budgets, with development aid to the education sector also seriously under pressure.
“Indeed, countries reduced their spending on education after the onset of the COVID-19, and, at the same time, direct aid to education by bilateral donors fell by some three hundred and fifty-nine million dollars ($359 million), which is not compatible with the objectives of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for financing sustainable development and the goals of the SDGs,” he said.
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com