The “Ladé Wosornu Students Poetry Contest” is a fulfillment of the Black Star Experience program that seeks to honour and eternalize a Ghanaian creative arts legend.
It is an annual national student’s art incubator literary programme by government, designed and run by the Creative Arts Agency, Ghana in partnership with the Ghana Library Authority and the Pan-African Writers Association with support from the Professor Ladé Wosornu Trust.
This programme, one of the modules of the Creative Arts Agency’s “Grow the Artist-in-Me!” project, is designed to create a platform that encourages the patronage and appreciation of Ghanaian poetry, especially among students, and as well preserve and promote indigenous Ghanaian languages, an advocacy being championed by Zukpitor Professor Ladé Wosornu.
It is one of the branches of the “Ladé Wosornu Literary Nest” announced by the Ag. Executive Secretary of the Creative Arts Agency, Mr. Gideon Aryeequaye last year and, is planned to be held at the regional level and climaxed nationally with a final contest among the regional best.
The pilot edition came off successfully at the National Children’s Library, featuring 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 had the opportunity to creatively present the poem of focus “Raider of the Treasure Trove” written by Professor Ladé Wosornu, in English and Ga languages and also answer questions about the poem for points.
The highly contested programme had overwhelming participation and ended with Accra High School coming first; Accra Girls SHS, second and Wesley Grammar School third.
Other prizes won included Most Creative Group Award won by Accra High School; Best Ga presentation by Wesley Grammar School and Best English presentation by Accra Girls SHS. Awura Oforiwaa was adjudged the Student Spoken word artist of the contest.
Other supporters of this the debut Ladé Wosornu Students Poetry Contest are Ghana Tourism Development Company-Official, National Film Authority, Yumvita Ghana, Apple man Ghana and Breathing Art Studio.
