4 SHS students to debate solutions for copyright infringement
“God holds the copyright, as the sole author of life”, so says Dr Gift Gugu Mona, a South African poet and Philosopher.
The truism in this quote makes it imperative that every author of any literary work must hold the sole right to the copies.
Also, the message in the above quote underscores the mission of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA), which is to improve and protect by all lawful means the interest of Ghanaian publishers.
It is in line with this that the leadership of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA) and Afram Publications Ghana Limited have teamed up to rope the country’s future leaders (students from selected senior high schools) into the fight against copyright infringements.
The representing schools will debate a copyright-related and two other topics as part of activities marking the 22nd Ghana International Book Fair (GIBF) slated for August 20-23, 2025, at the National Theatre in Accra.
The fair will be on the theme: “Inclusive publishing, celebrating accessible literature.”
The competing schools for the 5th GPA–Afram Publications Inter-Schools’ Debate are: Tema, Okuapeman, Swedru and Winneba senior high schools.
The debate aims to afford five students (debaters) from each of the four competing schools to pitch ideas that would help address the pertinent issues identified in the selected topics.
The Board Chairperson of Afram Publications Limited, Professor Esi Sutherland-Addy, explained that, “The idea is that we will have well-rounded personalities who are not just passing exams, but who have an interest in a wide range of topics and can contribute to society and take action based on strong ethical principles.”
The stage is set
After a balloting session on June 23, 2025, the four schools were grouped into A and B, with Swedru SHS and Winneba SHS in Group A.
The Swedru SHS team will argue against the motion - The devastating effect of illegal mining (galamsey) on the environment is due to non-implementation of appropriate policies, whereas their counterparts from Winneba SHS will argue for the motion.
On the other hand, the debaters from Tema SHS and Okuapeman SHS, who form Group B, would respectively argue for and against the motion- Indiscipline in schools is a result of deficiencies in the school curriculum. Do you agree with this statement?
Subsequently, the winning school from both groups will battle it out on the main topic, “The publishing industry has been adversely affected by the lack of copyright enforcement: Are authors and publishers deserving of copyright protection?”
“We believe the topics selected would influence decision making. As John F Kennedy (Former US President) said, Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed.”
The Managing Director of Afram Publications Limited, Harriet Adelaide Tagoe, recalled during the brief but impressive balloting session.
The reward
Up for grabs are plaques and books for all participating schools, a writing and reading workshop and desktop computers.
For her part, Prof. Sutherland-Addy encouraged the competing schools, saying, “We will continue to encourage schools as well as student-led clubs to develop the great skills inherent in debating because debating requires that you search for knowledge,” she noted.
The Chairman of the GIBF Planning Committee and President of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA), Asare Konadu Yamoah, could not hide his appreciation for the sponsorship offered by Afram Publications Limited for the debate.
