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Eastern Region is well known for its ‘Koforidua Flowers’
Eastern Region is well known for its ‘Koforidua Flowers’

National Culture Centre - Koftown welcomes you

The Eastern Regional Centre for National Culture is easily one of the active branches in Ghana. The Centre has several educative programmes some of which dates back over a decade. It also boasts of a beautiful administration block. In terms of location, the Centre shares common boundary with the Regional Police Headquarters off the Accra road.

The Eastern Region is split into two main halves by Lake Volta and the Afram River as well. By all standards it is an eye-pleasing place, full of lovely wildlife and beautiful and friendly people as well.

The huge Lake Volta actually dominates this region, and the region is neatly located between the Volta, Central, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, and Great Accra regions.

While the area is well known for beautiful women, known as ‘Koforidua Flowers,’ there is much more to this region as well. There are traditional cultures, landscapes that are both beautiful and dramatic, and many historic relics as well. This area of the country is near the lower part of the country and you'll find that there is much to see and enjoy. 

The Centre in Koforidua has an annual Poetry and Drama Festival which aims to inculcate and develop the communication skills in the Youth. This programme is designed also to encourage students to write their own poems and plays.

One thing that intrigues me about this centre is the Traditional Cultural School.

The management of the centre took this decision in the year 2000. The establishment of the Traditional Cultural School became very necessary in response to requests from prominent citizens in and around Koforidua for personnel from the Centre, to teach them basic traditional dance movements including the art of cloth-wearing.

This programme provides mainly the youth the opportunity to learn about Ghanaian traditional culture. Personnel of the Centre are on hand to teach drumming, basic traditional dance steps, native greetings and responses, the art of public speaking, etc.

 At a point the school was opened to students from Israel,

Germany, Holland, Sweden, Columbia, U.S.A. and Britain come to learn.

Another side attraction to the Centre in this region is the Cultural Week event. This is basically a mini NAFAC programme. At the event, seminars, Lectures, Craftsmanship and Traditional Medicine business are put on display. During the two week programme, there is a focus on our indigenous industries and technology. The programme also tries to unearth new tourism sites in the region.

Another feature of the centre that is targeted at the youth is the Bishop Palmer-Buckle Vacation Youth Camp. It was named after now Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle, who was then the Catholic Bishop of Koforidua.  This is a two week programme for Junior Secondary School students.

It is a non-residential camp where subjects that are not on the Ghana Education Service (GES) Curriculum are taught.

Personnel from West African Examination Council (WAEC), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Value Added Tax (VAT), CEPS, Red Cross, Health Insurance, Fire Service, Police M.T.T.U. etc are contracted to lecture the participants.

The peaceful atmosphere at the Camp, a departure from the typical classroom scene saw participation of students during lessons at its highest point. Quite naturally, Ghanaian cultural practices are also taught. Greetings and their responses, taboos, proverbs, art and craft, drama, music and dance are some of the subjects featured at the camp. The programme is designed to keep the student's busy during the holidays.

The camp also draws participants from the Greater Accra region. There were nine participants from the region and two from the Suhum Kraboa/Coaltar district in the Eastern Region.

The Centre is keeping track of almost one thousand participants who have passed through the camp. Many are in the three state universities i.e. University of Ghana, KNUST and University of Cape Coast.

Others are in private Universities, the Polytechnics and Teacher Training Colleges.  Some are also learning other trades which would be beneficial to them and the nation.

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The writer is a Communication and Tourism Specialist. Books he has authored include ‘Romancing Ghanaland- the Beauty of Ten Regions’, Tickling the Ghanaian-Encounters with Contemporary Culture & ‘Harmattan- a Cultural Profile of Northern Ghana.’

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