Board Chairman of the Ghana Oil Company Limited, Reginald D. Laryea has called on all Ghanaian media houses to play participatory roles in ‘December in GH’ 2023 calendar of events set to take place in the upcoming festive season.
During the launch of the first batch of listed events for ‘December in GH’ held at the Accra Tourist Information Centre, he noted that the media has an immense role to play in making this year’s edition a success.
The former President of the Advertisers’ Association of Ghana noted that the media has enough influence to drive the attention of the Ghanaian people through shows and special segments, themed under this national project undertaken by the Ghana Tourism Authority and ‘Beyond The Return’ under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “This is a charge to the press; a newspaper could have a special ‘December in GH’ edition. You could have quizzes, essays, programs and even the media, if it’s a radio station you can have, ‘December in GH’ segments. Please help us to generate the kind of interest to make the ‘December in GH’ 2023 a success.”
He urged media houses to also come up with ideas that could enlighten the average Ghanaian on what the GTA and Beyond The Return seek to achieve by hosting these events. This he reiterated will give them the bragging rights of being part of a successful and impactful season for Ghana. “The media must own this and take it all across Ghana. Let it be said that the media pushed the initiative; Come up with various ideas and the steering committee here are willing to give you the needed attention and I am sure about sponsorship as well.”
The ‘Beyond The Return’ steering committee member believes that the media have enough power to make ‘December in GH’ 2023 a more meaningful project to Ghanaians all across the nation, to work hand in hand to represent Ghana and Africa at large.
Beyond the Return is a ten year initiative, themed “A decade of African Renaissance”. It is the follow-up-to the successful ‘Year of Return’ campaign in 2019 that invited the global African diaspora to visit Ghana.
Beyond The Return is upheld strongly by seven pillars which are geared towards engagement and building strong relations with the diaspora community.
‘December in GH’ promises to bring about a constant atmosphere of African heritage and Ghanaian unity through the events that have been endorsed under the alignment of at least one pillar of Beyond The Return; Experience Ghana, Celebrate Ghana, Invest in Ghana, Brand Ghana, Give Back Ghana, Diaspora Pathways to Ghana, and Promote Pan-African heritage and Innovation.
By: Kobina Baidoo