The 2026 weeklong Kente Festival of the people of Agotime in the Volta Region was rounded off with a grand durbar at Kpetoe on Saturday.
The Agotime Kente Festival-2026 was on the theme: Agotime Kente – Honouring Our Heritage, Safeguarding Our Future.
The Chief of Staff at the Office of the Vice President, Alex Segbefia, who was the guest of honour, said kente held an extraordinary place in Ghana’s national life.
“It carries our values and identities, accompanies us through important moments in our lives, and has become one of the most recognisable expressions of Ghanaian culture worldwide,” he added.
In that context, Mr Segbefia commended the ongoing work on the Kente Village and Centre of Excellence, initiated by the Governing Council of the Agotime Kente Festival, saying the project brought together cultural preservation and bright prospects of economic development.
It also has the potential to expand training, support artisans, and enterprise, in addition to encouraging research and innovation, as well as helping to protect traditional designs and strengthen Agotime’s position as a destination for cultural tourism, he said.
The guest of honour, therefore, urged other institutions and development partners to contribute to the successful completion of the project.
Meanwhile, Mr Segbefia said the project was consistent with the government’s broader vision for Ghana’s creative economy, adding the nation’s cultural heritage was an inheritance, and the knowledge and creativity behind it were assets.
“Our weavers, designers, and other creative professionals must be able to turn their knowledge and talent into sustainable enterprises and decent livelihoods,” he added.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Agotime Ziope, Alfred Eklu Odikro pledged the assembly firm stance to work with traditional authorities and other stakeholders to raise tourism in Agotime to astonishing heights.
He, therefore, entreated the people remain united and live in peace always, to pave way for the rapid realisation of the dream.
The Member of Parliament for Agotime-Ziope, Charles Agbeve urged the youth of Agotime to embrace kente weaving, saying the elderly weavers were exiting the vocation.
He said Agotime was definitely the best place for kente and that craftsmanship must be preserved with great zeal and enthusiasm.
The Konor of Agotime, Nene Nuer Keteku IV, said kente was far more than an export commodity to be admired at ceremonies.
He said kente was the living soul of Agotime, representing the collective wisdom of the ancestors, preserved and expressed through the rhythmic movement of the loom.
Nene Keteku said it was, however, not enough to praise the craft in public, but it must be sustained through deliberate practices.
“If we fail to transmit this traditional knowledge to young people in our home, schools, and workshops, we will become mere caretakers of dying art, left with memories, while the skill itself fades into history,” he cautioned.
Nene Keteku said the Kente Village and Centre of Excellence project sought to give that tradition a permanent foundation to serve as a viable economic engine to for local employment, a source of foreign exchange, and a micro-enterprise capacity across the rural economy.
That, he said, would also safeguard the traditional kente designs against counterfeit imitation.
The chairman of this year’s festival planning committee, Cephas Kafui Apenuvor said the celebration was yet another testimony of the shared unity, deep-rooted cultural pride, and inspiration among the people to protect the kente craft, which defined the people of Agotime.
