From The Philippines: National Day of Ghana

Tomorrow, Saturday, is the National Day of Ghana. This is the time of the year when Ghanaians remember the historical events which have profoundly shaped the course of Ghana’s history.

This year’s theme for Ghana’s 53rd National Day is “Investing in the Youth for a Better Ghana.” The government of Ghana called on the public to drape households, shops, and kiosks in the national colors. Ghanaian families were exhorted to pray and fast for the destiny of the nation on this day.

Ghana is a country located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator, therefore giving it a warm climate. The Greenwich Meridian also passes through Ghana, specifically through the industrial city of Ghana-Tema. It is said that Ghana is geographically closer to the “center” of the world than any other country. Cote d’Ivoire is located to the west of Ghana while Burkina Faso and Togo are located to its north and of a horrendous event that must never happen again. Another grim reminder of a shameful past, is the Documentary Heritage of Enslaved Peoples of the Carribean, (Barbados and Museum Historical Society), now inscribed in the International Register.

Others include the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition in New Zealand; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, d-minor, op.125 (Germany); the Landmark Constitutional Documents of the Commonwealth of Australia; and the Epigraphic Archives of Wat Pho in Thailand.

The Memory of the World Philippine Committee urges individuals and organizations to join this campaign in identifying and preserving this documentary heritage which belongs to all, and, therefore, must be made accessible to all. Research is ongoing to justify the nomination of the Jawi Alphabet and language, and Doctrina Christiana. There has been an expression of interest in locating landmark documents during the Martial Law, as well as putting together a documentary of an event that Filipinos must never be allowed to forget – the Maguindanao massacre.

My e-mail is florangel.braid@gmail.com