Women Traditional Leaders launch peace festival
The Council of Women Traditional Leaders (CWTL) last Tuesday launched its National Peace and Unity Festival, intended to bring together all royal groups in the country for national peace and development.
The festival, dubbed “Adeyheman Mma,” is slated for November this year on the theme, “Traditional Leadership-Culture and the Arts for National Unity and Development.”
It is being organised by the Institute for Research Advocacy and Training and sponsored by the Ghana-Denmark Cultural Fund.
The launch brought together all traditional women’s groups, associations, and leaders from all the 10 regions in the country.
The CTWL was initiated about 13 years ago during a conference on Culture, Chieftaincy, Governance and Development in Ghana to empower women traditional leaders.
It is intended to make traditional women leaders more effective in dealing with issues in their communities and use the great power and influence they already exert, for peace and development.
Launching the festival at a ceremony in Accra, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Madam Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, said the theme for the festival, symbolised the determination of the queen mothers to come together and promote unity and development.
She said the tourism industry dwelled on the warmth and friendliness of Ghanaians and more importantly, “the unique cultural traditions and strong historical heritage for which you (queenmothers) are, no doubt, the custodians.”
Madam Ofosu-Adjare mentioned that among all ethnic groups, queenmothers have played exemplary roles in the settlement of disputes, poverty alleviation through micro income generation and infrastructural development for local communities.
“The result is that these activities have and will continue to contribute to peace and social harmony,” she added and expressed optimism that the festival would go a long way to shape the future of the society, through the same outreach programmes and activities outlined.
The Deputy Minister of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Mr John Alexander Ackon, in his remarks encouraged the queenmothers to work hard to help resolve issues of chieftaincy within their various communities.
He also urged all splitter qeenmother associations to come together as one body to help women in general, to contribute their quota to society.
Mr Ackon further assured them of the government, as well as the ministry’s commitment to provide a place for queenmothers in the National House of Chiefs and advised them to also work hard in their various communities to help reduce maternal and child mortality in the country.
By Zainabu Issah/Daily Graphic/Ghana
