Culture

Senegalese music icon, Baaba Maal named UN Ambassador

Published

2 years ago

April 18, 2023

Senegalese music icon and activist on climate change and refugees, Baaba Maal, was on Monday named a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

Maal, a prolific singer-songwriter and producer in the West African country, has been a long-time climate change activist who has been committed to various development challenges in Africa, working with different family organizations, according to the U.N, and was named for his immense contributions to the cause.

Maal runs a foundation called the NANN-K Trust which recently opened a solar-powered irrigation project in Senegal to fight desertification, which is one of the main drivers of people leaving the country on dangerous migration routes, the U.N said in a statement.

“The project will train people to start similar projects in their own communities.”

Maal who recently spoke about project in a interview, said he was a believer in putting power in the hands of young people and women.

“We are tackling climate change impact, but also fighting desertification on the African continent, especially in my region where we are just not far away from the desert and we see it coming to us,” he had said.

“And it had an impact because people who don’t get more opportunities to do agriculture, fishing and many more, will have to run away from their places, go to the big cities where nothing is planned for them there.

“And then later on, some of the young ones will just take the boats to go to Spain or some of these places or just try to cross the desert and it’s really dangerous. We did lose a lot of lives,” he added.

Brought up in the small town of Podor in north Senegal, a fishing community, Maal was born into a fisherman caste and was expected to follow that career path.

But he said his path in life was changed when he befriended storyteller and musician Mansour Seck, and has spent his life performing, travelling and raising awareness about the issues his homeland faces.

“Our role is first to give news about what’s going on, because sometimes the local people, they don’t know what’s happening to them is the impact of climate change.

They don’t know how to stand up against that. But at the same time, when they know about it, they will say what to do,” he said in the interview.

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Culture

Ghana’s Supreme Court dismisses suit challenging anti-LGBT bill

Published

2 days ago

December 19, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Ghana’s Supreme Court has dismissed two separate suits challenging the legality of one of the proposed anti-LGBT legislations awaiting assent into law by the president.

The separate suits were filed by two legal practitioners, Amanda Odoi and Richard Sky, challenging the bill, seeking to declare it illegal and prevent the president from signing it.

The two cases had challenged the constitutionality of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill.

But in a ruling on Wednesday, the Supreme Court unanimously decided to dismiss the legal challenges to the new anti-LGBT legislation that has been criticised by rights groups.

The controversial bill was passed earlier this year by Ghanaian lawmakers with three years imprisonment for people identifying as LGBT and five years for forming or funding LGBT groups.

While dismissing the cases, presiding judge, Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson, who delivered the ruling on behalf of the seven-member panel, said the cases were premature.

“Until there’s presidential assent, there is no act, the two cases were “unanimously dismissed,” she said.

The ruling is the latest blow to the LGBTQ community in Ghana and paves the way for the president to sign into law what many say is one of Africa’s most restrictive piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose term in office ends on 7 January, had delayed signing it pending the outcome of the Supreme Court challenge but the judges said the case could not be reviewed until it had been signed it into law.

It expected that incoming president, John Mahama, will sign the bill into law as he had always expressed his support for the bill during his electioneering campaigns.

Culture

UNESCO lists Ghana’s Kente cloth as cultural heritage

Published

3 days ago

December 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The iconic Ghanaian Kente, a piece of clothing, has been recognized as a cultural heritage on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The global recognition, according to the UN body, is coming under the 2003 Convention for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage highlights the cultural and historical significance of the vibrant, handwoven textile.

In a citation on its website, UNESCO describes the Kente cloth as “originating from Ghana’s Asante and Ewe communities and renowned worldwide for its bold colors, intricate patterns, and deep symbolic meanings, embodying the creativity and identity of the Ghanaian people.”

Ghana’s Tourism Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, described the recognition as a testament to Ghana’s commitment to preserving its cultural heritage.

“This achievement places Ghana at the forefront of global efforts to safeguard and celebrate cultural traditions,” he noted.

In a statement acknowledging the recognition, Mercer said the “Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC) expressed gratitude to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, UNESCO, and the artisans, cultural institutions, and traditional authorities who contributed to this milestone.”

“Special acknowledgement is given to the Bonwire and Agotime communities for their enduring role as custodians of the craft.

“As Ghana celebrates this historic moment, MoTAC reaffirms its dedication to promoting and preserving the nation’s rich cultural legacy.”