Maiden Lade Wosornu Students Poetry Contest Debuts in Accra to Celebrate Ghanaian Literary Heritage
The maiden edition of the Lade Wosornu Students Poetry Contest, a pioneering initiative under the Black Star Experience programme designed to honour and immortalise Ghanaian creative arts legend Professor Lade Wosornu, has been held in Accra, marking a significant step in the country’s efforts to nurture the next generation of literary voices.
Organised by the Creative Arts Agency Ghana in partnership with the Ghana Library Authority and the Pan-African Writers Association, with support from the Professor Lade Wosornu Trust, the annual national student literary and arts incubation programme forms part of the Agency’s “Grow the Artist-in-Me!” project. Its core mission is to encourage the appreciation and patronage of Ghanaian poetry among students while preserving and promoting indigenous Ghanaian languages — an advocacy championed for decades by Professor Wosornu himself.
The pilot edition took place at the National Children’s Library at Airport City and brought together six senior high schools in Accra that study Ghanaian languages: Accra High School, Accra Girls SHS, Ebenezer SHS, Labone SHS, St Thomas Aquinas SHS, and Wesley Grammar SHS. Each school creatively presented the selected poem, “Raider of the Treasure Trove,” written by Professor Wosornu, performing in both English and Ga before answering questions on the poem for points.
At the end of the keenly contested event, Accra High School emerged winners, with Accra Girls SHS placing second and Wesley Grammar School taking third position. Accra High School also won the Most Creative Group Award, while Wesley Grammar School received the award for Best Ga Presentation. Accra Girls SHS won the Best English Presentation award, and Awura Oforiwaa was adjudged the Student Spoken Word Artist of the contest.
The competition is one of several branches of the Lade Wosornu Literary Nest initiative announced last year by the Acting Executive Secretary of the Creative Arts Agency, Gideon Aryeequaye. The programme is expected to expand to the regional level before climaxing with a national final involving winners from across the country, potentially becoming one of the most important literary incubation platforms for Ghanaian youth.
The initiative arrives at a time when Ghana’s education sector is marking significant milestones, with institutions celebrating decades of contribution to national development. The poetry contest adds a new dimension to these efforts by focusing specifically on the creative and linguistic arts.
Other supporters of the debut contest included the Ghana Tourism Development Company, National Film Authority, Yumvita Ghana, Apple Man Ghana, and Breathing Art Studio, reflecting a broad coalition of public and private partners invested in Ghana’s cultural future.
Image Source: MYJOYONLINE
