Maiden regional book fair held in Kumasi to promote reading habits
The Coalition of Ashanti Authors and Publisher have organized the maiden regional book fair in the Ashanti Region with a call on parents to inculcate reading habits in their children by providing them with interesting books.
The president for the Coalition who doubles as the chief executive for Rainbow Publications John Akwasi Amponsah who made the call, urged parents and guardians to give books to their wards at a very tender age to whip up their interest as they grow.
Mr Amponsah in an interview with OTEC News Kwame Agyenim Boateng at the sidelines of the opening session of the book fair on Thursday October 20,2022 at the Kumasi Jubilee Park bemoaned how reading among students in the south part of Ghana keeps dwindling and appealed to all stakeholders to do their part to reverse the situation.
The three-day event on the theme, “Read for Future”, was supported by the Ghana Book Council under the Ministry of Education.
The Regional Book Fair brings together local and international book industry players like publishers, editors, authors/ writers, designers, illustrators, printers, librarians, booksellers, students, teachers and a host of allied organisations, to showcase innovations that have occurred in the publishing industry, to share ideas, foster strong links, explore business opportunities and enhance the visibility and recognition of players in the book industry.
It is also to create a conducive climate through quizzes for Basic Schools, workshops, symposia, and other competitions where the intellectual potentials in the book industry can find firm roots to grow.
Mr Amponsah underscored the importance of publishers on the Ghanaian economy and called on the Government to provide enabling environment for them to create more jobs and reap in foreign exchange for the country.
For his part the Public Relations Officer for the Kumasi Metro Education Service, Nana Yeboah Asiamah II, said Book Fairs had made progressive strides since the first edition held in Accra in November 1996 to revive the book industry in Ghana.
He added that, the fair which is now in the Ashanti Region will provided an excellent opportunity for the book industry stakeholders to determine the scope of interaction between various interest groups and establish an understanding for the promotion of the Ghanaian cultural heritage through books.
He noted the Fair had been a pillar of cultural heritage that had offered the country the opportunity to showcase its literary works to the world, which had helped the private sector to make a significant impact on the Ghanaian book industry.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Jacob Agyenim Boateng
