By Tawiah Mensah
“God holds the copyright, as the sole author of life” so says Dr Gift Gugu Mona, a South African poet and Philosopher.
The truism in this quote makes it imperative that every author of any literary work must hold the sole right to the copies.
Also, the message in the above quote underscores the mission of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA), which is to improve and protect by all lawful means, the interest of Ghanaian publishers.
It is in line with this, that the leadership of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA) and Afram Publications Ghana Limited have teamed up to rope the country’s future leaders (students of selected secondary schools) into the fight against copyright infringements.
The task is for representatives of students at the identified schools to debate a copyright-related and two other topics as part of activities marking the 22nd Ghana International Book Fair (GIBF) slated for August 20-23, 2025 at the National Theatre in Accra.
The fair is under the theme: “Inclusive Publishing, Celebrating Accessible Literature.” And the competing schools for the 5th GPA–Afram Publications Inter-Schools’ Debate are; Tema, Okuapeman, Swedru and Winneba Senior High schools.
The objective is not far-fetched. As key stakeholders and future leaders, the debate aims at affording five students (Debaters) from each of the four schools named above, to pitch ideas that would help address the pertinent issues identified in the selected topics.
It is also aimed to build their communication skills as well as give them an avenue to exchange knowledge.
As Board Chairperson of Afram Publications Limited, Professor Esi Sutherland-Addy puts it, “The idea is that we will have well-rounded personalities who are not just passing exams, but who have interest in a wide range of topics and are able to contribute to society and take action based on strong ethical principles. The idea also, is that we need to have a population that appreciates fun and are able to compete fairly and learn to accept both victory and defeat.”
The stage is set
After a free and fair balloting session on June 23, 2025, the four schools were grouped into A and B. Swedru Senior High School and Winneba Senior High School found themselves in Group A.
The debaters from these renowned schools are the ones who have been charged with the responsibility of proffering out of the box suggestions to help curb the galamsey menace, which is destroying the environment. In this regard, the team from Swedru SHS has been given the responsibility to argue against the motion- The devastating effect of illegal mining (galamsey) on the environment is due to non-implementation of appropriate policies, whereas their counterparts from Winneba SHS will argue for the motion.
On the other hand, the debaters from Tema Senior High School and Okuapeman Senior High School, who form Group B, have the mandate to evolve strategies for dealing with indiscipline in schools as they argue respectively, for or against the motion- Indiscipline in schools is a result of deficiencies in the school curriculum. Do you agree with this statement?
Subsequently, the winning school from Group A will battle it out with the winner from Group B on the main topic- The publishing industry has been adversely affected by the lack of copyright enforcement: Are authors and publishers deserving of copyright protection?
Clearly, it promises to be a battle of brains as representatives of the schools who were present during the balloting were upbeat about the event once the topics were made known.
“We believe the topics selected would influence decision making. As John F Kennedy (Former US President) said, without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed,” the Managing Director of Afram Publications Limited, Ms. Harriet Adelaide Tagoe recalled during the brief but impressive balloting session.
She encouraged all participating schools to “prepare very well, so we can have an interesting and thought-provoking debate on the 20th of August, 2025.”
The reward
Up for grabs are plaques and books for all participating schools, Writing and Reading workshop and Desktop Computers.
Board Chairperson of Afram Publications, Prof Esi Sutherland-Addy had some words of encouragement for the competing schools.
“We will continue to encourage schools as well as student-led clubs to develop the great skills inherent in debating, because debating requires that you search for knowledge, that you have the ability to analyse this knowledge, that you have the ingenuity of developing an argument, that you are able to work in a team, that you have the ability to participate in healthy competition,” she noted.
The Chairman of the GIBF Planning Committee and President of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA), Mr Asare Konadu Yamoah, could not hide his appreciation of the sponsorship offered by Afram Publications Limited for the debate.
He charged the participating schools to “bring this competition to the attention of their old students and rally them around for a successful programme.”
Conclusion
Well, August 20 is barely 2 months away, and the balloting for the 5th GPA-Afram Publications Limited Inter-Schools’ Debate has set the tone for a solution-finding mental battle.
Undoubtedly, the stakes are high, thus the debaters are expected to approach this competition with one thing in mind- proffer cogent arguments that could help curb copyright infringement, galamsey, and indiscipline in schools. From all indications, that is what will define the ultimate winner. May the best school win.
