Green Tales holds creative arts contest

Green Tales, a climate education initiative, has organised a creative arts contest on sustainable practices among some senior high schools (SHSs) in Accra to equip students with sustainable ways of solving the impact of climate change.

The contest, which was held in three categories namely poetry, arts and drama, was among SHSs in Accra, such as the Accra Academy, Labone, St Thomas Aquinas, Accra Girls and St Mary’s Girls SHSs.

At the end of the contest, Accra Girls SHS came first, St Mary’s Girls took the second position and Labone placed third in the poetry category.

For the drama category, Accra Girls SHS took the first position, Labone placed second while Accra Academy SHS came third.

In the Arts category, Accra Academy came first, Accra Girls SHS took the second position and Labone SHS placed third.

The first prize winners for each category received a brand new Binatone iron, assorted beverages from Twellium Company, Verna water, boxes of McBerry Products, Indomie noodles, kente sashes, plaques and cash prize with canvas frames, clean cooking bags, certificates and fuel allowance for their schools.

The second and third-prize winners for each category took home the same prizes without a brand new Binatone iron.

The event was on the theme: “Unearthing indigenous sustainable practices for climate action.”

There was also a panel discussion where diverse issues on climate change were addressed.

The students entertained the audience with poetry recitals and choreography displays. 

Advice

During the event, a veteran actor, David Dontoh, urged the youngsters to take advantage of platforms such as the Green Tales initiative to unearth their talents and make money out of it in the future.

He explained that everyone had a talent but it was only when “we give birth to that talent that we would be able to make life out of it.

“Once you are identified in an area of creativity, you already have a profession. For the rest of your life, you only have to polish your talents and make money out of it,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Africa Global Radio, Yasmin Bitugu, underscored the important role storytelling played in impacting cultural values in children, noting that storytelling served as the primary means of documenting our history.

“It is through stories that cultural values are imbibed from generation to generation. Storytelling, which is a source of identity, helps us reflect on the virtues of honesty, integrity and respect,” she said.

For her part, the Founder of Green Tales, Emmaryn Leuzzi, said the Green Tales event was organised to simplify climate education for all students, especially those with non-science backgrounds while reviving indigenous ways of solving the impact of climate change.

“As globally established, Africa is the least contributor of greenhouse gases, yet we bear the brunt of the impacts of the crisis.

“To further widen the gap, climate education is significantly lacking on the continent, especially among students with non-science backgrounds,” she noted.