Kumasi: The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts (MoTCCA) has held a two-day workshop in Kumasi to pilot the implementation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural and Organisational (UNESCO) Culture 2030 Indicators project in the city. This initiative was conducted in partnership with UNESCO and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) as Kumasi has been selected for the project’s implementation.
According to Ghana News Agency, the UNESCO Culture 2030 project is funded by the European Union under the project titled ‘Advancing Evidence-based Policies and Actions, and Supporting Policy Making to Enhance the Contribution of Creative Sectors and Industries to Sustainable Development.’ The workshop brought together representatives from various departments, agencies, and organisations within the KMA. It highlighted the significance of integrating culture into sustainable development plans and focused on enhancing capacity building in culture-related data collection and analysis.
Dr Richard Fio Commey, the National Expert for the UNESCO Culture 2030 Indicators, explained that the project aims to measure and observe the contributions of culture to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at both the national and urban levels, with Kumasi and Accra chosen for the pilot implementation on the urban and national levels, respectively. He noted that the workshop also aimed to introduce and educate stakeholders in Kumasi on the UNESCO Culture 2030 Indicators project following a successful launch in Accra.
Dr Daniel Appiah-Adjei, the Kumasi Local Expert for the UNESCO Culture 2030 Indicators, described the project as providing a comprehensive framework of 22 indicators. These indicators are grouped under four dimensions: Environment and Resilience, Prosperity and Livelihoods, Knowledge and Skills, and Inclusion and Participation. He acknowledged the crucial role culture plays in achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Quality Education, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
Dr Appiah-Adjei emphasized the necessity of measuring and tracking culture’s contributions to sustainable development through the indicator project to promote the integration of culture in policy making and development plans. He urged stakeholders to cooperate with the team of data analysts under the project, who will visit their organisations to collate administrative data.