Ghana hosts 13th edition of World Music Festival of Women
Ghana is hosting the "World Music Festival of Women From Here and There", as the festival moves out of its host country, Canada for the first time.
The festival has participants from Jamaica, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Niger, as well as five Ghanaian female artistes namely Quayba, Laura Etemah, Sundri Feeling, Della Hayes, and Esinam, who will compete with 15 other artistes.
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The event organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Centre for Communication and Culture (CCC), Women in Tourism, and Afro Mondo, will bring stakeholders together to discuss methods to promote women in the creative industry.
The global festival seeks to project the concerns of female artistes around the world to address the challenges and gaps in gender equality.
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Speaking at a conference organised as part of the festival yesterday, November 17, UNESCO's National Programmes Officer, Karl Ampah unesco, mentioned that while culture and entertainment offered jobs for women, on a worldwide level, they were not being allowed the same rights as their male counterparts.
He stated that it was vital that women received the same financial support, employment chances, and professional recognition as their male counterparts in order for them to make the same strides.
“There is the persistence of dominant outdated views on gender, negative stereotypes, and limitation on freedom of expression has largely contributed to gender-specific challenges related to accessing specialised technical and entrepreneurial training as well as financial resources for women which is crippling their efforts.
“Such impediments must be removed in order for our women in the sector to make the same strides as their male colleagues,” he said.
He asked industry players to make a concerted effort to recognise and reward women's creative and artistic abilities, as well as to provide them with equal chances.
The event, which began on November 16, features a variety of events such as competitions, fora and concerts, among others, and will end on Sunday, November 20.
