On Friday, I visited the Bureau of Ghanaian Languages in Accra to explore ways in which we could take advantage of their programmes to help make the study of Ahanta interesting especially for children.
The Bureau exists to promote the preservation of Ghanaian Languages and Culture through the publication, certification, and usage of world-class systems, technology, and collaborations with local and international partners.
In our engagement, officials were full of praise for our Ahanta Language Renaissance Project and is interested in collaborating to ensure we can make the teaching and learning of Ahanta accessible to people of all ages.
The Bureau is starting a new project to use animation in promoting Ghanaian languages. Through our fruitful engagement at this meeting, they have agreed to include our Ahanta language in the languages to be used for the animations to be created.
Whiles there, I also learnt the bureau produces podcasts in Ghanaian languages at their studios. I have requested that they help us produce some of these podcasts in Ahanta and we would soon be sending persons from Ahanta who would be a part of the production of these podcasts which could be accessed online via social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook.
With this, all people of Ahanta, whether in Ahanta West or anywhere else in the country or even outside of Ghana, can learn to speak and write with ease.
The Bureau is also interested in collaborating with the University of Education, Winneba, which we are already working with to establish the Ahanta language studies faculty to help train teachers when the curriculum becomes mainstream. They would also be helping to us develop the books to be used once the curriculum is in place and also work with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in making Ahanta an examinable subject of study.
As MP, working with the committee implementing the Ahanta Language in School programme, I intend to leverage on technology to advance the Ahanta agenda.
I am very keen and have invested so much of my time and resources these last 7 months of serving as your MP in this language project because it is absolutely fundamental to our socio-economic growth and development as a people.