Abdourahamane Diallo, the Head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Ghana, has urged stakeholders of the Ghanaian music industry to come together to help in telling the story of highlife music through documentation.
He made this statement at a conference held on Friday, March 4, 2022, organised by the Ghana Folklore Board and the Ghana Cultural Forum.
The conference was meant to discuss plans by which Ghana’s highlife can be listed as a UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
He also expressed optimism about the enlistment of highlife music as UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage.
“In the nomination process, Ghana would be asked to demonstrate that Highlife music satisfies certain criteria and the need to sustain its visibility, awareness, as well safeguarding measures to protect and promote Highlife,” Diallo said.
He acknowledged highlife music as an integral part of Ghana’s culture.
“Highlife music is an integral part of the intangible cultural heritage in Ghana and the subregion and has over the years contributed to dialogue on societal issues,” he said.
The conference was attended by entertainment personalities such as Gyedu Blay Ambolley, Smart Nkansah, Ackah Blay, Amandzeba, Bessa Simons, Prof. John Collins, Nana Asaase, among others.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey was also present at the programme.
In the wake of UNESCO listing of Jamaica’s reggae music and the rhumba music in Congo, the highlife music conference was to seek among other things to establish a roadmap for highlife music to be added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place’s cultural heritage.
Intangible heritage consists of nonphysical intellectual wealth, such as folklore, customs, beliefs, traditions, knowledge, and language.
Intangible cultural heritage is considered by member states of UNESCO in relation to the tangible World Heritage, focusing on intangible aspects of culture.
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By: Kwame Dadzie | Ghana Weekend
