Accra, Dec. 20, GNA - Mr. Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture on Thursday said the current state of affairs of the Ghanaian youth, strongly indicated that they were in a crisis situation with no values and no direction. He attributed the situation to the overwhelming influx of western culture in developing countries including Ghana, where western programmes such as music and films had dominated both cinema and television screens with their strong negative influences. Mr. Boafo, at the launch of the annual kids programme, KIDDAFEST 2008 and the re-launch of the monthly youth variety educative and entertainment programme, "FUNWORLD" said the youth saw no future unless "we change their focus and provide them with the appropriate orientation to restore their self-confidence by equipping them with the skills to be creative and self-supporting". Launched under the theme; "Ghana at 50, Our Youth, Our Culture and Globalization," the Minister said the two programmes would complement government's effort to ensure the proper upbringing of the Ghanaian Child.

He recounted the invaluable contribution of the youth, especially in the struggle for independence, saying without them there would not be any changes.

"Ghana has a youthful population with 54 percent under 18 years and seven out of every ten under 30 years according to the Ghana Statistical Service Report on the Ghana Living Standards Survey of 1992".

He said something needed to be done to retain the lost cultural identity of Ghanaians, saying globalization, as a conscious process to integrate developing countries into the stronger socio-economies of the developed countries, had brought into focus the power of culture in a global environment.

Mr. Boafo said the Ghanaian youth were now becoming exceedingly American because they were loosing their identity and that was evident in their manner of dressing, language adulteration and above all, the denigration of their indigenous cultural beliefs and norms. He said the KIDDAFEST and FUNWORLD programmes therefore offered the platform for the youth to develop and showcase their own skills and freely express themselves in developing their hidden talents. He said the Ministry was ready to link up with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to ensure that all school children attained a high level of cultural orientation to help imbibe in them the spirit of patriotism and the 'Ghana First attitude' at an early age to become responsible citizens.

Mr Boafo commended the management of the National Theatre, organisers of the programmes and encouraged parents to support their children to unearth their talents.

He said 13 years of KIDDAFEST had featured prominently in the Artistic calendar of the West African Sub-Region and had attracted participants from all the regions of the world. Mr. Boafo also appealed for parental cooperation to help focus on quality development through education and other socio-cultural activities to help build a strong future for the children instead of abusing their rights through trafficking for others to exploit whilst blaming their actions on poverty and unemployment.

He mentioned programmes such as the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme and Free bus services for school children that were in place to ease parental burden and urged parents to make full use of those facilities to ensure quality education.

Efo Kodjo Mawugbe, Deputy Executive Director- Artistic, National Theatre of Ghana, said the two-year period of the closure of the theatre for renovations, coupled with lack of adequate resources and sponsorship for the programmes enabled the management of the theatre ample time to review its programmes to improve both the form and contents. He said KIDDAFEST 2008 and FUNWORLD were aiming at very exciting child-centred programmes, not only to educative and entertain, but to provide solutions to some of the problems confronting the society and children as a whole.

Efo Mawugbe also said the management had also improved upon the collaboration and networking with the Cultural and Division of the Ghana Education Service, to develop such programmes under the National Theatre's contribution to complement the efforts of teachers, to deepen the understanding of the areas of the new educational reforms that had to do with Arts and Culture.