Accessibility of Development

Accessibility in development

|| 14.3.2014 || Jacqueline Muro, Harriet Abena Ndanu, Jessi Ristilä, Erja Andersson, Eetu Ampuja ||

Development does not happen in a vacuum. Even if you depend on nature you still need to have a plan and that plan should often aim at inclusivity.
Most countries in Africa are still striving to develop; however, in their quest to develop they tend to marginalize a large section of the population. For instance people living with disability are often marginalized and discriminated against during the development process. Even though there are laws, regulations and conventions which stipulate that these people should be in included and be allowed to participate in the national development  most Third World government lack the necessary resources to implement these basic human rights.
Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that, people living with disability should be allowed to participate in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport of which most African countries are signatories to.
Both the 2006 Disability Act of Ghana and the 2010 Disability Act of Tanzania also states that public buildings and transport should be made accessible to people living with disability but till date, these laws and conventions are not being implemented. Finland has a comprehensive disability policy programme – VAMPO that caters for the needs of people living with disability.
Ghana and Tanzania can take a cue from Finland by eliminating structural and infrastructural barriers and prevalent attitudes in society that restricts the independent living, coping, self-determination and social inclusion of people with disabilities.
Development is incomplete when a section of the population is excluded. Development is the inclusion and participation of ALL.

This article was produced as international team work during “Newswriting – Focus on Development Journalism” –course in TUAS. The participants came from Ghana, Namibia, Tanzania, Netherlands, Belgium and Finland. The course was taught by Ms. Bertha Amakali, Deputy Head of Department from Polytechnic of Namibia, Mr. Geofrey Aloyce, Head of Journalism Department from University of Iringa and Mr. Kodwo Boateng, Acting Dean from Ghana Institute of Journalism.

The course was supported by JOCID project (Journalism for Civic Involvement, Democracy and Development). More information of JOCID: http://jocid.turkuamk.fi/

MEANING OF WOOD SCULPTURE DESIGN

Sculptors in Ghana in designing a piece do not design just for the sake of designing. They attach meaning to every design they make. Some of these designs have general meaning while others are peculiar to the sculptor or the client he is working for.

The most popular and common designs most sculptors use in Ghana is the Adinkra symbols. The Adinkra symbols are common to wood sculptors in Ghana as it has a shared meaning.

Adinkra Symbols

These symbols are very traditional and originates from Ghana precisely, the Ashanti region. Therefore, these symbols have become common designs for wood sculptors in Ghana since most Ghanaians can allude to it.

 There are symbols like the “Fawohodie” which means “freedom, emancipation, and independence”. There is also the “Nyame Dua” which means “tree of God” and “Nea onnim no sua a, ohu” which means “he who does not know can know from learning”.

There are other designs that are peculiar to the sculptor. Most wood sculptors in Ghana create certain designs that over time, becomes their signature. They create these designs and give them a meaning. Some designs are also created to suit the client. They design the sculptor to suit the meaning the client wants to attach to it.

Designing in wood sculpture is not done for the fun of it or just for the beautification. It is done to give meaning to the work.

Perspective: Meaning of Wood Sculpture Design

TELEVISION TALK SHOWS IN GHANA

Television has become a very popular phenomenon in Ghana. Not only is there a national broadcaster, there are several private television stations as well. There is the free to view and pay per view. I guess the popularity of television has led to the popularity of talk shows.

Talk shows have flooded the screens of all televisions in Ghana. They range from morning talk shows to midday shows and there are those held in the evenings. The subjects for these talk shows vary. They include politics, relationships, fashion, entertainment and religion.

I really enjoy listening to these talk shows as most of them are very educative, entertaining and informative. My problem is mostly with the political talk shows.

Most of these political talk shows are very biased as only representatives of the two major political parties are invited to air their views. The Ghana I know is made up of more than two political parties, therefore inviting just two parties to speak about their ideologies I think is not representative enough.

Most often, the panelists of these political talk shows are jack of all trades and master of none. They speak on all issues ranging from health, education, finance, agriculture, gender etc. They speak on these issues from fields where they do not have much knowledge.

Despite the fact that most producers of these political talk shows are biased in selecting their panelists, there are a few who make sure that all sides of an issue are brought to light by inviting all the parties involved. They also do well by inviting experts in the field of the subject under discussion.       

Perspective:The Bias Nature of Political Talk Shows in Ghana.                                                                               

HOW WOMEN ARE PORTRAYED IN ADVERTS

There have been several campaigns and awareness created in the media to change certain stereotypes attached to people by reason of their sex. Despite the numerous campaigns and awareness being created to achieve gender equality, there are still people who believe the place of the woman is in the kitchen.

I am not talking about some uneducated man living in a village somewhere who thinks all the girl child is good for is to be a wife. I am actually talking about the educated, those who uphold the concept of gender equality. I am referring to people who have educated their girl child to obtain higher academic laurels. They take them to the best of schools so that they can hold important positions in the future but still hold the notion that a woman’s place is in the Kitchen. I don’t know if it is done consciously or unconsciously.

I believe every advert we see in the media whether prints, electronics or online have two meanings to it, the general and the subtle. The general one would be to sell a product, service or idea. But there are hidden meanings in all advertisement in the media.

I have observed the Ghanaian media for a while now and can confidently say that women are often portrayed as kitchen materials in most of the adverts.  Of course, that is not what the adverts seek to achieve but these stereotypes are fed into our subconscious mind through advertizing.

I have realized that women are used to advertize food and cooking. Women are always used to advertise tomato paste, cooking oil and the like.  No wonder, Gino, Frytol and Maggi, all ingredients of cooking have women at the centre of it. To show how superior the man is to the woman, they also use him to advertize technology and business.

Maybe advertisers have never really thought of the subtle meaning they convey with their adverts. I pray advertisers would be more cautious when creating their adverts so as not to make the efforts of those fighting for gender equality futile.

Perspective: How women are portrayed in adverts.

DANCE IS COMMUNICATION

Dance has been defined as an art form that generally involves the movement of the body, often in a rhythmic way and to music. But dance, goes beyond movement of the body. Dance is a form of communication.

Likewise, all dances in Ghana communicate. The traditional dances like Adowa, Kpanlogo, Agbadza, Borborbor, Gahu, Gome, Kete, Atsiagbekor and even a contemporary dance like Azonto all are used for communication. The meaning of the dance is embedded in every step the dancer takes, the gestures with the hands and even the facial expressions.  I have always known this truth but I guess I didn’t really believe as I didn’t understand most of the dances I have witnessed.

I have seen most of these dances being performed on different occasions but very often I am unable to tell the meaning of the gestures. I am only able to tell if a dance is that of mourning or celebration based on the occasion. That story changed as I understood a whole story through dance.

Someone doing the Kpanlogo dance

It happened on the 11 October, 2013 at the Kama Conference Centre during the launch of the 2013 “Because I am a Girl” Campaign report. The event was dubbed “In Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Girls in Disaster Situations”. The dance was to depict the theme of the event. I had doubt because I didn’t believe anyone could depict such a theme through dance without having to say a word. I sat in my seat wondering how the dance would look like.

I was surprised or should I say shocked when the Global Arts and Development centre took over the podium, as they told a whole story which depicted the theme of the event through dance.

It was after that event, that I really understood the statement, "Dance is Communication".

Perspective: Dance as a form of communication

CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS PERFORMANCE

A circus is a company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, jugglers, musicians and the like. Their performances are mostly done in circles called the circus ring. Circus performers are mostly nomads who move from place to place with their entertainment.

 I have always been a lover of circuses even though I have never seen any live circus performance. I see them in movies and hope for a day when I will see some in reality. My favorite part of most of the circus shows I have seen on television is when the clowns and jugglers have to do their own thing. I can never forget the acrobats in the circus shows I have seen, not with those killer moves of theirs.

 I don’t know if I can describe what I saw as a circus performance, but I think it is a contemporary form of circus performance. It is a performance that took place on Viking lines Amorella that left the shores of Turku to Mariehamn on the 18 February, 2014.

The performance took place at the fun club on the ship. I described the performance as a contemporary form of circus as it has elements of traditional circus performances. It had music, acrobats, dance and it followed a storyline about life events and like traditional circus performances, there were moving from place to place with their performances.

I don’t think what I saw was different from what I see on television. The only difference was with the manipulation of the lightening system to give the performers a silhouette look. Even if that show is not a circus, I am satisfied knowing that I have witnessed something that is or is close to a circus.

Perspective: Contemporary Circus Performance

MY EXPERIENCE IN THE AUDIO EXPRESSION WORKSHOP

On the 4th of January, 2014, I left the shores of Ghana and arrived at Turku, Finland on the 5th to take part in the JOCID exchange program. 

As part of the course requirements for Audio expression, one of the courses we have to take, we were supposed to learn how to use the zoom recorders.

This aspect of the course was taken by Mr. Jussi Arvio, a lecturer at the Turku University of Applied Sciences.  The course kick started with an introduction to microphones. After that, we learnt about the various parts of the Zoom recorder and the functions of each part.

Eva Kuupuolo editing her audio

We were then put into groups of three to conduct interviews amongst ourselves using the zoom recorders. The interview was in two folds. One was to be conducted sitting and the other, walking outside. 

My group chose a quiet spot in the building to have our first interview where we conducted the interview in turns.

When it was my turn to conduct my interview outside, I forgot to point the microphone

 at the interviewee’s mouth. I didn't even realize it maybe because I was too excited or because I had conducted the interview while walking. We all converged at the radio studio inside Tutka, where each group had to edit their interviews using Audacity.

I wouldn't say my group did a good job with regard to the editing but on the whole it was a nice experience; a lesson I will always carry with me throughout my journey as a professional journalist and probably to other fields as well.

Perspective: My Experience in the Audio Expression Workshop 

DAFFODILS

Poetry is said to be the expression of observations, emotions, and imaginations in a creative or metaphoric language.  I think poetry is the expression of emotions, experiences and imaginations using a more condensed language.

My all time favourite is “Daffodils”, a poem written by William Wordsworth. He is known for other poems like “The Solitary Reaper” and “The Sun Has Long Been Set”. William Wordsworth displays a heightened interest in nature and expresses a deep sense of emotions in his poems. It therefore comes to me as no surprise that he was considered by many as the crowning achievements of English Romanticism.

Daffodils

I love daffodils because Wordsworth employs a lot of imagery in the poem. The poem takes your mind on a journey once you start reading it. This is evident in the very first line of the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”. This line compares the loneliness of the poet to that of a single cloud moving in the sky. I find it very fascinating just thinking that of all the things the poet could compare a lonely man to, he chose the clouds.

He made use of powerful imagery in the third; fourth, fifth and sixth lines of the first stanza.

“When all at once I saw a crowd

A host, of golden daffodils

Beside the lake, beneath the trees

Fluttering and dancing in a breeze”

He made use of the word “crowd” to depict the unending stretch of the daffodils. He also made use of “host” to describe the welcoming sense the daffodil gave him.  He showed the specific location of the daffodils using words like beside and beneath. Wordsworth didn't

only show the location of the daffodils but the movement as well.  He described the swaying of the flower from side to side as a dance.

William Wordsworth made extensive use of imagery to paint a beautiful and vivid picture of the scenery. His words were chosen carefully to give the reader a mental picture of the beautiful scenery he had encounter and the satisfaction that came with that encounter.

Perspective: The Use of Imagery in the First Stanza of William Wordsworth’s “Daffodils”

AZONTO DANCE

Azonto is a dance form that originated from Ghana. It emerged from the Kpanlogo dance of the people of the Greater Accra region of Ghana. It also has elements borrowed from traditional dances from other regions of Ghana.

Afro Mask doing the Azonto dance

 Azonto, like many dance forms, is used for communication. A person could understand a dancer’s message from the dance moves: hand signals, facial expressions, gestures and the movement of the feet. Like any African dance, it combines elements of knee bending, movement of the feet, hands, shoulders and hips.

Keche doing the Azonto dance

Before the invention of the Azonto dance, young people shy away from the Ghanaian traditional dance. They regarded the traditional dance from their respective regions as a thing for the old folks. They preferred the brick dance and all the other western dance forms to the neglect of their own.

Therefore I think the invention of Azonto is a good innovation. This is because it does not only give the youth what they want with regards to dance but also combines elements of Ghanaian dance ensembles.

Culture is dynamic. I therefore think that Azonto is just an evolution of the Ghanaian traditional dances into what the youth can cherish and call their own.

No wonder, the youth of Ghana are showcasing the country worldwide through the dance. We can talk of people like Fuse ODG and BET Award winner, Sarkodie who are all advertising the country Ghana and the continent of Africa through Azonto.

Perspective: The addictive nature of telenovelas.

WHAT DO ADVERTS SELL?

I was taught during a course in introduction to advertising at the Ghana Institute of Journalism that advertising is any paid form of marketing communication through the mass medium with an identifiable sponsor. The main purpose of advertising is to persuade or manipulate an audience to take a particular action. For instance, it is used to manipulate audience to remain loyal to a brand.

I was told advertising can take several forms. It can either be outdoor, on-line, in the prints or electronic media.  Recently I have seen the trend of adverts in the Ghanaian media and I ask myself, what is the purpose of this advertisement? What does it seek to achieve?

 Advertising especially outdoor, prints and on-line are dissuading from the patterns of advertising ten years ago. Of course, I do not expect them to be the same because technology has evolved and improved over the last ten years. Therefore there should be improvement in the images as well as the concept of advertisement.  

I look at some adverts and I see a lack of creativity especially those that have celebrities endorsing them. I stand to be corrected, but from what I learnt in my advertising class, celebrities are to advertise or endorse the product and not to advertise themselves.

I sometimes look at an advert and I see no connection between the celebrity and what is being advertised.

Most of the adverts these days do not sell the product or the service but the personality in the advert.

Perspective: Celebrities are advertise instead of products during product endorsement.