Integrate culture into planning process - Hagan

Kumasi, Nov. 6, GNA - Professor George Panyin Hagan, Chairman of the National Commission on Culture, has advocated for the vigorous integration of culture into development planning schemes at all levels of decision making in the country.

He said the development and promotion of cultural activities at the district, regional and national levels must not be confined to drumming, dancing and celebration of festivals and funerals, but rather, culture should be perceived and considered as a vital industry that could propel the economy of the nation.

This was contained in an address read for him at a two-day workshop on culture and development for district planning officers and regional directors of the Centre for National Culture in the northern sector in Kumasi on Thursday.

The workshop, which is being organised by the National Commission on Culture, with support from the Konrad Adenaur Foundation, aimed at building the capacity of the participants to enable them to develop concrete strategies to design cultural programmes and projects that would accelerate development of the districts.

It also aimed at placing culture at the centre of the district development planning process.

Professor Hagan said each district in the country was endowed with a national feature, historical monument or rich heritage, which could be judiciously harnessed to create wealth for the people.

He said district planning officers had a pivotal role to play in the promotion of culture and tourism at the district levels, and that there was the need to bring them together to brainstorm to ensure harmony and co-ordination in the country's development strategy. Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, in an address read for him, charged district development planners to liaise with traditional authorities to identify cultural activities that would help promote growth.

He called for the revisiting of some of the cultural practices that were used to protect the environment, to minimise the degradation of the country's natural resources.