Accra, April 1, GNA - A new cosmopolitan magazine, Discover Urban Style and Trend "DUST" which seeks to educate, interact and entertain the public on daily activities in Accra was launched on Thursday. The free magazine would, in addition, document various cultures in the Metropolis.

Launching the 55-page magazine Ms Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry, called for the empowerment of the youth to enable them to contribute meaningfully to national development. She observed that any nation that neglected its youth could not achieve its development agenda.

"This is because most of them are very innovative and their talents could be harnessed to fast-track national development," she added. Ms Tetteh lauded efforts of the author and the magazine that would fill the vacuum of publishing cultural assets such as artifacts and institutions in the country. "The current globalisation processes in which contemporary societies are involved in dynamics of losing and re-invention of meanings, signs, symbols and values need to be addressed to bring back Africa's true history. "We need to gear ourselves in pursuing an agenda towards creating the necessary confidence in what is indigenous and thereby asserting our dignity to provide hope for the people and future generations," she said. Ms Crystal Svanikier, Managing Editor of DUST, said the idea to author the magazine started three years ago while working with Global Media Alliance as Assistant Editor for the Sunday World. "I started observing, analysing and putting together my ideas of how the perfect printed medium would operate and make an impact on the market," she said.

The Managing Editor said, "The magazine would describe Accra in a way that no other magazines had done. Like New York, London, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg or Lagos, Accra also has an identity that is literally screaming to be documented".

"DUST comparable to other magazines, including the Classic African and the Drum magazine, would become collector's items giving future readers an idea of what it was like to live and work in Ghana," Ms Svanikier said. She said the magazine, targeted at both the young and old, would be made available on the specially designed website www.accradust.com for interested persons to download. Ms Svanikier noted that the magazine would also document and educate the rich stories and culture of the remaining nine regional capitals in the country.