We are in a critical political year as Ghanaian, for that matter the quest for peace has now become a soothing voice on every lip. Many have been eluded in this quest because their actions never commensurate with what they sought to achieve. I have seen people gather on football pitch, musical, dance and drama concerts all in honour of peace. The third commemoration of UNESCO World Poetry Day organised by the Walk The Talk Group (Walk The Talk Club of University of Ghana) also fulfilled this mission of peace with the theme “building peace in the mind through the creative arts and culture”.

All happened at the Maison Francaise of Legon on the 21^st of March, 2016. It took the form of performances, readings and talks. It broke the boundaries of the English language and attracted the presence of stake holders like the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture, Dzifa Gomashie; The National Programmes Officer of UNESCO Ghana, Mr. Carl Ampah who also stood in for the UNESCO Representative, Tirso Dos Santos in Ghana and Mr. Yuriy, a Russian translator and lecturer from the Modern Languages Department who was also there with a couple of his students. It was in deed a great day for all creative writers as most of them either had the chance to perform their works on stage, publish on our page or enrich themselves listening to other creative writers.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture touched on many things that will help the creative arts and the youth of today. She pointed out the need for poets to be wary of how they use poetic licence while they sought to bring in investors, have the government formulate policies to grow the creative industry and have people patronise their art . Poets she said, should know the relevant things to talk about at the right place and at the right time, especially how to say them. She encouraged them to look at group publishing as that will cut down on their publishing cost and still afford many the chance to be published. “We should make use of the opportunities that are available to us poets and the youth”, she said. We should get acquainted with other poets in the limelight for them to review our work and draw inspiration from them. That will add to the quality of our writings. She also assured the gathering that her doors are always open to all those who have creative ideas to move the industry forward.

When it was turn for Mr Ampah to speak, he took the gathering back to his school days experience of war when he was on year abroad in Ivory Coast. That was when the civil war broke in that country. He therefore advised the gathering to desist from all provocations and actions that will breed any unrest in Ghana. Furthermore, he asked the youth to concentrate on what they can do for their country other than what their country can do for them. He read the speech of the Secretary General of UNESCO for that day as well.

It was a moment to outdoor some talented poets. These poets performed with seasoned poets like Leander David, Civilian, Poet General, Michael, and Samija. Leander David’s poem “I sing another dirge tonight”can be found on this url: http://thegreatempire.blogspot.com/2016/05/i-sing-another-dirge-tonight.html

Two distinguished poets, Dr Mawuli Adzei and Ike Boat who could not make it on that day gave the organizers a poem to be read which has been posted on our facebook and twitter pages “Walk The Talk Group” and POETRYGHANA respectively.It was simple and brief a ceremony which ended with picture taking and interaction between the guest and audience. Before the curtains finally came down, the UNESCO 2016 poem of the day written by Leander David, founder and coordinator of “Walk The Talk” was read by Carl Ampah . This piece can also be found on this url: http://thegreatempire.blogspot.com/2016/03/2016-poem-of-day.html

Some of the pictures are captured below.