Ghanaian school children to link up with time zone counterparts in 2000

Accra, Sept. 29, GNA - Ghanaian children from some 125 schools will join their counterparts in countries on the Greenwich Meridian to celebrate the new millennium through educational and cultural activities from October 13.

Ms. Pru Smith, a representative of ' On the Line', initiators of the millennium celebration, told journalists on Wednesday that the first cycle pupil would share cultures through art and music and Television programmes among others.

Dubbed the School Linking programme" it would include the exchange of projects through the post, facsimile and electronic mail. The UK, France, Spain, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana, share the same time zone.

Ghana will primarily participate in the "School Linking project" and the " On the TV programmes through the GBC". Under the TV programme, Channel 4, a United Kingdom television station, will provide free documentaries and entertainment programmes to GBC for transmission in 2000.

"Eight countries share the same daylight hours and time zone; their people wake up at the same time each day but lead very different lives..We think they should share their diverse cultural experiences."

Ms. Smith added. She said "On the Line " idea was conceived by the popular British Journalist, Jon Snow and Oxfam, a British Non Governmental Organisation, to bring people in all countries lying north and south of the Greenwich Meridian to begin the next century well armed with information about themselves.

"In the UK, most people think of celebrating the millennium in local terms. But Jon saw the possibility of celebrating the millennium in a long and more lasting and global way" He saw it as a unique opportunity to explore the similarities and differences between cultures and peoples and environment, development of international relationships, which will extend far beyond the 2000.

Mr. Terrance Humphreys, Director of the British Council, Ghana, allayed fears that the linking programme would result in the imposition of cultures of Europe on poor African countries. "

If anything at all, they would be helped to understand that there exists certain human beings who are culturally different from them. A reality I hope they will appreciate."