The Path Travelled

By Sika Akoto

Accra is preparing to host one of its most vibrant cultural events as the Afro Flavors Food Festival returns with a promise to transform the city into a hub of African heritage. Scheduled for September 13-14, 2025, at Ghud Park, Accra Mall, the two-day festival is expected to deliver a rich mix of food, music, and tradition.

In the town of Cereté, Colombia, a baby girl has been officially named Chat Yipiti, a unique choice inspired by the artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT.

The name has sparked a wide range of reactions online and in the local community, with some praising it as a bold display of originality, while others see it as a source of amusement.

As you sink down onto a toilet seat used by hundreds of other people the same day, you might be wondering: how long do pathogens survive in bathrooms?

Fashion influencer and creative activist, CW Abeniade, is set to launch a Barbados edition of her transformative initiative, On the Streets with Abeniade, aimed at using fashion to uplift underserved communities.

Vendors of artefacts at the Arts Centre in Accra are at odds with some tour guides, accusing them of encroaching on their trade.

They claim business has declined because some tour guides are now doubling as artefact sellers. Instead of bringing tourists to the centre, the guides allegedly deliver the items directly to visitors at their hotels.

According to the vendors, this practice discouraged potential customers from visiting the Arts Centre, pushing them to shop elsewhere.

As part of the British Council’s Creative DNA programme, local fashion house Ometsey showcased its design collections at the Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) 2025 at Space House, London.  

Wednesday, August 6, 2025, will forever be etched in Ghana’s memory as a day of profound loss — a day when eight distinguished Ghanaians set out to serve their country but never returned.

Just as the Akan people have their famous Adinkra symbols, the Ga people also possess a rich symbolic tradition known as Ga Samai. While the symbols have existed for generations, one man is expanding the collection and giving it fresh expression — Dr Richard Afutu Kotei, son of the late Amon Kotei, the designer of Ghana’s Coat of Arms.

The Africa Future Leaders Institute of Global Affairs (AFLIGA) is set to host the inaugural edition of its Thought Leadership Series on Wednesday, August 7, 2025, at its International Secretariat in Accra. 

It was an evening of healing, music and hope as Abenatay Ministries, in partnership with the Mental Health Authority hosted “Surviving the Mood”, a mental health awareness night on bipolar disorder and other mood-related conditions.

As a pop-up handbag auction opens in London, a fashion frenzy is gripping venerable auction houses – and sending prices sky high. Can fashion ever be on a par with a Picasso?

"I like my money where I can see it. Hanging in my closet," says Carrie Bradshaw in the 2000s TV series Sex and the City, and it would appear that an increasing number of collectors do, too, with archival fashion auctions fetching record prices. 

Last year, two fresh students met in one of our universities and immediately fell in love.

They were all over each other and earned nicknames in what appeared to be an exciting and fulfilling relationship.

However, few months into the relationship, when the woman contracted a strange disease, the man left her.

It was a joy having an elder brother when growing up. Both of us could share almost everything we had.

Though we were three (3) years apart, we could exchange our clothes and no one would notice. What I had, he could wear. What he had, I usually wore.

Dietician Madam Etornam Bansah and gym instructor Mr. Julius Siakpornu have stressed the need for young people to take control of their health by paying attention to their diet and committing to regular physical activity.

The successful growing of foreign fruits such as apples, strawberries, pomegranates and grapes by many Ghanaians who practice backyard farming has challenged the age-old belief that such fruits could only do well in cold temperatures.

A Certified Marriage Counsellor, Dr John Boakye, has advised women who do not receive gifts from their partners after being delivered of babies not to be disappointed.

Every profession has its pinnacle. In the judiciary, that summit is the Supreme Court. For Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo, reaching that height is not only a personal milestone but a call to national service.

We eventually become what we consistently see. Exposure defines our worldview and our worldview shapes our mindset and character. One’s character is not moulded out of a vacuum. Our preferences are borne out of what we have consistently been exposed to.

If Africa is serious about untying the next generation from the shackles of slavery (or neo-colonialism), it must be serious about telling its story ─ the African story. As far as storytelling is concerned, we must move beyond the level of consumption to the level of production. 

The announcement by the Minister of Education that the teacher licensure examination should end in August has attracted the concern of stakeholders who value quality in education.

Considered a quality assurance measure, its cancellation raises apprehension. The examination has consistently revealed that a cross-section of teachers possesses woefully inadequate professional knowledge. 

The Global Findex Database (GFD) 2025, released on July 16, shows that Ghana’s Financial Inclusion Index improved in 2024, moving to 80 per cent, from 68 per cent in 2021. Good news, right?