Open Letter To the Hon. Minister for Education, Hon. Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture,
Hon. Minister for Information,
And all stakeholders in child development.

I write as a parent and concerned citizen who has witnessed an overlooked but powerful force shaping the minds of our children: animated content.

Every day across Ghana, children as young as 6 months to 7 years old spend hours watching animated videos, mostly on YouTube, YouTube Kids, and television. But the content they consume is almost entirely foreign. Cocomelon, Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Blippi, Baby Shark, Little Angel and these are the voices, characters, and cultures that are shaping our children’s habits, language, worldview, and identity.

They sing nursery rhymes with American and British accents. They learn about snow, pumpkins, Halloween, and Santa Claus, yet many have never heard of Homowo, Aboakyer, Adae, or the wisdom of Ananse stories. They’re learning politeness, order, and confidence from fictional worlds that reflect none of our local realities.

This isn’t just entertainment. It is education. It is some of the most influential education children receive during their most formative years.

Ghana must act now. I am respectfully appealing to the Government of Ghana to lead and fund a national initiative to develop high-quality Ghanaian animation and educational content for children aged 0 to 7.

This content must:
Reflect our values, languages, culture, and environment.

Be available on YouTube, YouTube Kids, and other global platforms where children already spend time.

Be distributed freely on national TV, regional stations, and educational portals.

Be designed in collaboration with teachers, child psychologists, cultural experts, animators, and musicians

Be formally adopted into kindergartens, pre-schools, and lower primary classrooms as part of teaching materials

Be accessible in both English and major local Ghanaian languages such as Twi, Ga, Ewe, Dagbani, Nzema, and Fante.

Our children deserve to see themselves represented on screens. They need to hear their mother tongue, see their culture celebrated, and learn foundational values like respect, responsibility, teamwork, and honesty through stories that make sense to them.

Animation is one of the most effective tools for early childhood development, but external cultures currently dominate it. If we don’t step in now, we risk raising a generation emotionally connected to everywhere but home.

Let us learn from the USA, UK, and even Nigeria, which are countries investing heavily in media for young minds. Ghana has creative talent, folklore, music, language, and wisdom. What we need is vision, funding, and national support to make it happen.

This is not a luxury project. It is a strategic investment in:
Language retention,
Cultural identity,
Moral values,
Early education,

And the long-term mental and emotional health of Ghana’s next generation.

Let us not wait for others to define our children’s heroes. Let Ghanaian children grow up learning from characters that sound like them, dress like them, live like them, and teach values grounded in our context.

The future is digital. Our influence starts with the content they see. Ghana must be present early, boldly, and intentionally.

Respectfully,
Stephen Mensah
A Concerned Ghanaian Parent
May 2025