The Executive Director of the National Commission on Culture (NCC), Madam Janet Edna Nyame has reiterated the role of art in nurturing creativity in the youth for national development.
She noted that schools should have a class mainly designated for the teaching of art to help develop the youth’s creative abilities which will allow them to think critically and analytically in confronting issues when it comes to contributing to national development.
According to her, art has become essential since it instils in the youth the habits of mind that last a lifetime, gives them critical analytical skills, and the ability to deal with ambiguity and problems, perseverance, a drive for excellence, fuels imagination and helps produce dynamic and talented individuals our economy needs.
She was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Youth Camp last Friday, at CEYD Directorate which was held under the theme “Nurturing Creativity in the Youth for National Development- the Role of Art”, in Accra.
Janet Edna Nyame averred that human society is inexplicable hence, “everything we live with today exists as a result of art and creativity, and all the controversial problems in the world that have been resolved were solved based on the use of art and creativity.”
She said: “It will interest you to note that, our Ghanaian culture is replete with power and wealth, yet what prevails today, is the unguarded adoption of western lifestyles or cultures by most people especially the youth in the name of modernity leading to the adulteration of our beautiful culture and has immensely contributed to the erosion of the values, power and wealth of our cultural heritage as well as the histories of most Ghanaian communities.”
Janet Edna Nyame believes that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that the youth are reminded of the power and wealth embedded in our cultural heritage which has directed our lives over the years.
Research, she mentioned, has shown that, in the United States, 6 million people work in the art industry, generating $160 billion every year, and in the United Kingdom, the creative industry is the second largest industry after the finance sector.
The art and the creative industry, according to her, in the advanced countries are a resource waiting to be tapped.
“According to a popular Nigerian Writer, Chinua Achebe, “Art is man’s constant effort to create for himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him,” she said.
According to her, in order to succeed today and in the future, the youth need to be creative, innovative, resourceful and imaginative as creativity is a basic capacity of human intelligence and development.
She stressed that development is seen as an integral part of every advanced society and nurturing creativity in the youth has become a topical national issue for discussion which can never be underrated as it is too important to be ignored.