Two young Ghanaian artists will attend next year’s Edinburgh Festival as part of capacity building in the field of youth projects funded by the European Commission under the Emerging Artistes Programme.
The two, Ekow Moses – a young videographer, and Delphine Boakye Dankwah, a rapper and singer, will spend three months between May and July on an all-expenses-paid trip to the United Kingdom. During this time, they – together with participants from other countries – will take part in a series of activities leading to the main festival in July.
Some of these activities include attending workshops, sharing and exchanging culture and skills. They will also have a chance to learn about culture management, marketing, administration and social impact, among others.
“There will be a group of 18 artists living and working together in Edinburgh between May and July of 2022. We call it the Emerging Artistes Programme. While in the UK, there will be a lot of activities. They will be sharing their culture and skills with other artists, delivering at workshops,” Giles Agis, who works with the project, said in Accra.
The EU-funded programme supports the mobility of artists and culture professionals, with the objective of promoting the transnational circulation of cultural and creative work and operators, as well as capacity-building.
More importantly, it helps artists appreciate how their work can have meaningful social impacts on areas such as the health and wellbeing of young people.
He added that the Emerging Artistes Programme works with non-governmental organisations along the culture sector across different countries. In Ghana, its works with the Organisation for Strategic Development in Africa (OSDA).
By living together with other young artists from countries including South Africa, Zambia, India, the United States and Jamaica, he said, the programme promotes diversity and tolerance with the overarching goal of grooming artists whose work will have a positive global impact.
“I am really excited to be part of this project. I am looking forward to learning new skills and culture, meeting new people and also teaching them the culture of Ghana,” Mr Ekow Moses said.
Miss Dankwah said she is looking forward to learning about more genres of music and culture and exploring potential collaborations with other beneficiaries of the project.
Explaining the selection process, Manfred Tawiah – Chief Executive Officer of OSDA said: “We had many applications which were screened down to the best two.
“We expect them to become international artists and make Ghana’s name proud, and then come back to groom other emerging artists,” he added.
OSDA is a youth development organisation that operates in areas such as youth exchange, capacity building and training, human rights, poverty alleviation and volunteerism.
