Committee on Museums and Monuments inaugurated

In line with the government’s mission of making Ghana a refined tourism destination, a 12-member Committee on Museums and Monuments was inaugurated at the Accra Tourist Information Centre in Accra on Thursday, October 29.

The committee was inaugurated to propose new policies for the governance and organisation of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB).

It is also to investigate new ways of presenting narratives, as well as engaging communities from across social divides in Ghana to be properly represented in their museums.

The committee will be run on behalf of the Ghanaian government by ANO Institute of Arts and knowledge based in Accra, and is chaired by Professor Edward Ayensu, an international development advisor on science, technology and economic development and President of the Energy Globe Foundation.

Committee Members
Other members of the committee are Nana Ofori Atta Ayim, Kwasi Adi-Dako, Dr Dickson Adom, Edith Dankwa, Kodzo Gavua, Maame Mensa-Bonsu, William Narteh Gblerkpor, William Nuaiban Gmayi, Afua Nkansah-Asamoah, D.K Osseo-Asare and Magida Peregrino-Brimah.

The members are from diverse professional backgrounds and are expected to bring their experience and expertise in fields such as architecture, organisational restructuring, financing, repatriation, archaeology, art history and education.

In a keynote address, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng Gyasi, said arts and culture were the very roots of a nation’s psyche and the inauguration of the committee was another indication of the government’s commitment to the preservation of the heritage of the country.

She mentioned that Ghana had been positioned as the “Mecca” of pan-Africanism and the homeland of the African diaspora which required the preservation of its heritage and culture for the present generation and those unborn.

“We must tell our own stories in order to change the negative narratives about Africa. There’s a great opportunity for us to take a second look at the preservation of our heritage through the vehicle of the Ghana Museums and the Monuments Committee being constituted today to propose new policies for the governance and organisation of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB),” she stated.

Prof. Edward Ayensu said the committee was not going to undermine or investigate the operations of the GMMB but provide it with good policies.