Form stakeholders’ platform to promote reading, learning — Kosi Kedem

The Board Chairman of the Ghana Library Authority (GLA), Mr Kosi Kedem, has advocated the formation of a National Platform of Stakeholders (NPS) to promote literacy and reading.

He has also called for the establishment of a secretariat at the office of the President to effectively coordinate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those on literacy and access to information.

“Specifically, the United Nations (UN) SDGs 4.6 and 16.10 have highlighted the issues of literacy and access to information respectively. Under this framework, it is hoped that total literacy and access to information will be achieved by 2030,” he stated.

Workshop

Mr Kedem was speaking at a workshop on literacy, reading and numeracy promotion in Accra. 

It was on the theme, “The UN Agenda for Sustainable Development – the Role of Literacy and Reading in National Development.”

Participants discussed the issue of literacy and reading in the country and how it could be promoted in line with the UN SDGs. 

The proposed national platform would bring together like-minded stakeholders who are passionate about promoting literacy and reading. 

Libraries

Mr Kedem bemoaned the dwindling fortunes of literacy and reading in the country and attributed the situation to poorly resourced public libraries.

He said “public libraries are the memories of the nation.  They are the public learning and cultural space where people and ideas meet.  They are there to promote reading, the culture and love for reading and lifelong learning”.

The chairman further observed that public libraries were important for national development and therefore called on the government to establish and fund more libraries to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge.

Mr Kedem urged the public to change the narrative that the country had an anti-reading culture and advised them to prioritise investment in books.

He opined that there was the need to train more professional librarians to manage libraries in schools to inculcate positive reading habits in pupils and students.  

“If literacy must be tackled and drastically reduced, then the state and civil society organisations must join hands and form a formidable front to tackle illiteracy,” the chairman indicated.

Reading

The Director of Newspapers of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, who spoke on behalf of the Managing Director (MD) of the company, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, observed that it was only through reading that knowledge could be acquired.

“Learning for an hour is worth more than praying for the whole day. When you spend money to acquire knowledge, no one can take it away from your head. If you know how to write and read, you multiply yourself because you are able to discuss and analyse,” he stated.