HONOURABLE MARK OKRAKU MANTEY, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR TOURISM, ARTS, AND CULTURE HAS LAUNCHED THE FIRST-EVER MULTI-STAKEHOLDER HERITAGE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR GHANA.

This morning, Honorable Mark Okraku Mantey, Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture launched the first-ever Multi-stakeholder Heritage Strategic Framework for Ghana in the West African Sub-Region. The Minister was joined by Honorable Henry Kwabena Kokofu, the Director-General for Environmental Protection Agency, Mrs. Ama Serwah Nequaye-Tetteh, Secretary-General, Ghana Commission for UNESCO, Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo, Head of Office, UNESCO Accra Office, Professor Kodzo Gavua, Chairman, Technical Committee of the Ghana Heritage Committee, and Mr. Alexandre FOLOUN, representative of the Ambassador of France to launch this idiosyncratic Framework.

The event took place at the Ghana Shippers Authority, and it was attended by most actors and stakeholders in Ghana’s Heritage.

The Framework was developed by the Ghana Heritage Committee to outline an overarching set of priority actions to help manage Ghana’s diverse heritage resources effectively and efficiently. It is to serve as a national strategic blueprint from which all key stakeholder institutions will draw their annual action plans and programs.

In addition, the framework will help in addressing the following:

a) Promote innovative and integrated approaches in heritage management.

b) Promote inclusive engagement and involvement of communities and other stakeholders in heritage management.

c) Strategically position Ghana’s heritage to support sustainability and sustainable development.

d) Promote institutional and professional capacity building as a continuous process in Ghana.

e) Create an enabling environment for resource mobilization to support the heritage sector of Ghana.

In his speech, the Honorable Minister opined that the Framework is the best thing that has happened to the heritage and creative sector of Ghana. He pointed out that the Ministry is committed to ensuring that the Framework is successfully implemented by all the lead actors in the matrix of the Framework. In this context, he called on all the lead actors (implementing institutions) to ensure the Framework is implemented. He concluded by appealing to all donors and partners in the country’s heritage and tourism sector to support the implementation of the Framework.