The Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) on Wednesday, 17th November, 2021, launched the second edition of Taste of Ghana, purposed to showcase and celebrate Ghana’s unique culture in grand style.
The launch, which took place at the Centre’s premises, served as the official outdooring for the main event dubbed ‘Taste of Ghana 2.0”, scheduled to take place on 27th of December, at the Forecourt of the State House.
Under the theme “Our Language. Our Identity. Our Pride”, the festival will feature various indigenous cultural elements (music, poetry, theatrical performances, food, clothing, etc.), with an emphasis on the use of Ghanaian languages to create a truly Ghanaian experience.
This year’s Taste of Ghana event will encompass inputs from all the 16 regions in Ghana, with the aim of ensuring a fair representation of the unique and heterogenous cultures across the country.
With COVID-19 security in mind, the event grounds will be set up in streets with popular landmarks in selected regions, e.g.; Osu Oxford Street, Bantama High Street etc. with Vendors displaying merchandise peculiar to those regions.
While the event’s goal is to highlight the distinct and authentic traditional richness of madein-Ghana products and display the country’s rich cultural heritage, it will also provide business and investment opportunities for Ghanaians, its diaspora, and people from all walks of life in an informal setting.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the GIPC, Nana Dufie Addo said “the Centre is determined to continue engaging the diaspora community, as vital contributors to the development of the nation”. She added that “beyond the entertainment and rich cultural experience, we can take advantage of the Taste of Ghana to continuously promote tourism in Ghana and provide business opportunities for locals and foreigners seeking to invest in the country”.
Also addressing the audience, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the event avails an avenue to “showcase at the same place, the opportunities across the 16 regions of Ghana’. He opined that, the platform will be leveraged to further advance the country’s trade and tourism.
Adding to the Oppong Nkrumah’s assertion, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey, said the festival will be a tool to foster economic ties, to aid derive optimal benefit from the influx of global Diaspora in Ghana, during the festive season.
This was also buttressed by the Director of Project Development and Investment, at the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr. Ben Nsiah, who said ‘the festival is a laudable step, in using our culture to upscale tourism and investment’.
The Taste of Ghana 2.0 was touted by the Deputy CEO of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Albert Kassim Diwura, who pointed at the expected boost in patronage of cultural products, with spillover benefits on Ghana’s export activities.
Meanwhile, the Director of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, Akwasi Ababio, has called on major stakeholders to “explore every available opportunity to engage the various Diaspora groups”.
The taste of Ghana 2.0 is spearheaded by the GIPC in partnership with; the Ghana Tourism Authority, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Beyond the Return initiative, Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional integration, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
