Starting from January 2004 the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, DC will start a daily (from 6.30-8.30pm) re-broadcasting of radio news, current affairs, music, documentaries, sports commentaries from Ghana to the Washington,DC metropolitan area.Aside these adult programmes, the radio project will also have a childrens' flavour that will explain Ghanaian cultural concepts and folkore. This pilot project will air on FM air wave of the America University(WAMU 88.5) and hopefully extend to other States within the United States depending on patronage from Ghanaians.
According to Mr.Ivor Agyeman-Duah, Minister Counselor-Head of Public Affairs, agreement has been reached with Direct Community Broadcasting for Multicultural Radio Shows, a Washington, DC based company to make this happen.Participating media companies in Ghana include Joy FM, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Peace FM (which will deliver programmes in Twi).By this, Direct Community Broadcasting will supply short wave radios free of charge to potential listerners and also create an avenue for businesses to advertise. The potential listerners will pay a daily fee of sixty cents.
Mr.Agyeman-Duah explains: "One of the things we are trying to do here is create a platform for Ghanaians to get information through a multiplicity of views.Ghanaians in the Diaspora are very passionate about home events and the Embassy either alone or with other existing media channels will want to take advantage of this information -technology age for the good of its people."
He explained in a press release to the Africa media in Washington,DC that, if the radio project is basically to serve the interest of Ghanaians in the Diaspora, Africanlife Styles, a TV programme which produces in Virginia with the cooperation of the Embassy and Pax TV (WPXW-TV) on Saturdays goes beyond that.
" With a viewing audience of over 2.5 million people, we use this programme to get policy-makers in the U.S. Capitol and congress to be interested in African issues.Since October 28, 2003, when we re-launched it, three African Ambassadors have appeared and we have interviewed other leading lights in Washington."
Mr. Agyeman-Duah continues, "Ghana has a good name in the corridors of power here but it is still viewed as a peaceful part of a troubled continent.We will need to get the image right.....that it is still not a total diet of threatened animal species in the jungle, rebel wars, diasters, starving children but other more positive images.We can only court transnational interest and the Foreign Direct Investment they bring when they have confidence in the images and the images are media creation and can be corrected by the same."
To help in this crusade or further inquiries-the radio or television projects, get in touch via ghemwash@ghanaembassy.org, annemirian@ghanaembassy.org, iaduah66@yahoo.com, iaduah@ghanaembassy.org