Accra, 1 April, GNA - A new cosmopolitan magazine, "Discover Urban Style and Trend", an educative, interacting and entertaining publication on the daily activities within Accra, has been launched.

The magazine, which was launched on Thursday, is not for sale and se= eks to describe and document the different kinds of cultures exhibited in the=

nation's capital city.

Ms Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry, who introduced the= 55 page magazine, dubbed "DUST", called for the empowerment of the country's=

youth to enable them to contribute meaningfully to national development. She observed that, any nation that neglects the welfare of its youth= , fails to achieve its development agenda, "This is because most of them ar= e very innovative and these initiate could be harness to fast track the development agenda of the nation".

Ms Tetteh lauded the efforts of the author and noted that the magazi= ne would fill the vacuum of telling the numerous valuable cultural assets su= ch as artifacts and institutions of the nation. "The current globalisation processes in which contemporary societies=

are involved in a dynamics of lost and re-invention of meanings, signs, symbols and values needs to be addressed to bring back Africa's true history. "We need to pursue an agenda towards creating the necessary confiden= ce in what is indigenous and thereby asserting our dignity to provide hope f= or our people and the future generation", she said Ms Crystal Svanikier, Managing Editor of the DUST, said the idea to author the magazine started three years ago while working with the Global=

Media Alliance as an Assistant Editor for the company's news paper called=

Sunday world.

"I started observing, analyzing 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 has done. Just like New York, London, Rio De Jane= ro, Johannesburg or Lagos, Accra also has an identity that is literally screaming to be documented".

"DUST is comparable to other magazines, including the Classic Africa= n and the Drum magazine, would became a collector's items, giving future readers an idea of what it was like to live and work in Ghana", Ms Svanik= ier said. She said the magazine which targets both the young and old would be made available on the specially designed website www.accradust.com for interested persons to have access to download. Ms Svanikier noted that, the magazine would also document and educat= e the public about the rich cultural stories of the other nine regional capitals in the country. 1 April 2010