Elmina (C/R), Oct.20, GNA - The Chairman of the National Commission on Culture (NCC), Professor George Hagan, on Monday stressed that the time has come for all state institutions to collaborate and inject "cultural considerations" into the nation's development efforts, in order to help curb the rural-urban drift.

He said there is the need to ensure that the vibrant youth, who migrate to the cities, can undertake "cultural vocations" like cane, bamboo and rattan products, as well as textile weaving, in their local communities.

Prof. Hagan made the call at the opening of a two-day workshop on 'culture and development' for 65 regional directors of the NCC and district planning officers drawn from the Central, Volta, Western, Eastern and Greater Accra regions.

It is aimed at educating them on a draft national policy on culture, as well as creating a platform to enable the participants to interact with policy makers, technocrats, traditional and opinion leaders, among others, on the need to place culture at the centre of developmental activities.

Prof. Hagan, pointed out that time has come when development and promotion of cultural activities, must not only be confined to drumming and dancing, and that totality of the field of the cultural industry must be exploited to advantage.

He said for instance, each district assembly was endowed with one natural feature, historical monument or rich heritage of one type or another, and that it should be necessary to use some of these attractions to create employment for the youth.

A deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (rtd), who opened the workshop, echoed concerns about the negative effects of foreign films, and said as a major step towards re-orientating the youth in Ghanaian culture, all such films must be critically censored before being put on the screens. He said the eventual aim should be to remove all foreign films from the local television stations.

He suggested that in a bid to effectively portray Ghanaian culture, a day be set aside, preferably Friday, whereby Parliamentarians as well as Public sector workers will put on traditional clothes to work.

The Deputy Minister, in this regard, paid glowing tribute to the Otumfuo, Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene and the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin for doing everything possible to project culture and the way of doing things and urged them to keep it up.

He tasked the ministries and the district assemblies to make a conscious effort to promote culture, and suggested that tax rebates must be given to companies, which sponsor cultural programmes. The resident representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which is supporting the workshop, Mr Johannes Rey, in an address read on his behalf, said his organisation was collaborating with the NCC to promote cultural activities in the country.

The District Chief Executive for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA), in his address, advised the participants to take the workshop seriously in order to achieve the desired objective.