Also known as: U.N. cultural agency UNESCO · United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNESCO — international organization whose Representative List includes Ghana's Highlife music, partnering on heritage, education, and press freedom initiatives in Ghana.
… From importing solutions to producing them The Head of Office and Country Representative for UNESCO in Ghana, Edmond Moukala, described the Fund as a vehicle for Ghana’s “intellectual independence.” He argued that for nations to achieve genuine sovereignty in the modern era, they …
… Appiah Amfo noted that although Africa is home to more than 2,000 living languages spoken by over 1.4 billion people, a recent UNESCO report described African languages as a “blind spot in AI” because they remain significantly underrepresented in the datasets used to train large …
… Pro Opoku-Agyemang highlighted achievements such as the recognition and inclusion of Ghana’s Kente and Highlife on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, stressing that “history is indispensable to a nation’s identity and future.” “These achievements remind …
… Also speaking at the event, the Head of the UNESCO Office in Accra, Edmond Moukala, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to safeguarding press freedom worldwide. …
… Speaking at the round table, UNESCO Representative to Ghana, Edmund Moukala, underscored the critical role of foundational literacy in the age of artificial intelligence. …
… UNESCO, in partnership with the Government of Ghana, launched a project in 2025 specifically to strengthen community-level resilience and early warning capacity, funded by Japan. …
… UNESCO reports that 129 million girls are currently out of school — not because they are not brilliant, but because the world has decided girls matter less. …
… Speaking before the committee, the Minister explained that upon assuming office, she encountered concerning reports from UNESCO regarding forts and castles, warning that the country risked being delisted from the World Heritage register. …
… es’ 2025 annual report, held at the organisation’s premises at Gumani in Northern Region The 2025 Annual Report – titled ‘A Defining Year of Resilience, Innovation and People-Centred Action’, brought together security personnel, Ghana Health Service, Ghana AIDS Commission, UNESCO …
Veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr told the Ghana Journalists Association that media must prioritise determining what the public needs to know over maximising attention through controversy and sensationalism. He stressed that accuracy and professional judgment should not be sacrificed for speed, and that journalism's central challenge in today's environment is verifying truth amid information overload.
Veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr told the Ghana Journalists Association that media must prioritise determining what the public needs to know over maximising attention through controversy and sensationalism. He stressed that accuracy and professional judgment should not be sacrificed for speed, and that journalism's central challenge in today's environment is verifying truth amid information overload.
Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, President of the Ghana Journalists Association, called on journalists to prioritize truth and accuracy over speed and popularity, stressing that success should be measured by story credibility rather than audience size. Speaking at the GJA's 77th anniversary symposium, he emphasized that press freedom must be accompanied by responsibility, and that media credibility depends on accuracy, fairness, independence, accountability and respect for individual rights.
At the Ghana Journalists Association's 77th anniversary symposium, UNESCO's representative to Ghana stated that a free and independent press is essential—not optional—for nation-building and democracy. He highlighted the media's historical role in Ghana's independence struggle, democratic consolidation, election monitoring, corruption exposure, and accountability of public officials.
Nineteen months into the NDC government's term, Ghana's tourism sector shows a paradox: international arrivals rose from 1.29 million in 2024 to 1.31 million in 2025, but tourism receipts fell sharply from about $4.82 billion to $4.34 billion, with average visitor spending dropping from roughly $3,743 to $3,320. The article critiques the government's tourism initiatives as heavy on promises and activity but light on measurable policy delivery.
The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition has organized District Accountability Dialogues in two Ahafo Region districts to promote transparent and equitable education financing for girls and children with disabilities, bringing together local stakeholders to inspect fund allocation and advocate for stronger tracking of education money.
Ghana has secured a $4.5 million five-year Korea-Ghana Heritage Project (2026–2030) to strengthen protection of its forts and castles from climate impacts including coastal erosion, flooding, and structural instability. The initiative will initially focus on six heritage sites in the Greater Accra Region and establish scientific climate-risk assessment and monitoring systems alongside national conservation policies.
The Ministry of Health is developing a comprehensive National AI Health Policy and Guidelines to provide a legal, ethical and operational framework for safe and equitable adoption of AI across Ghana's healthcare system. The policy aims to strengthen governance, data protection, digital infrastructure, workforce readiness and regulatory oversight to ensure AI supports improved healthcare delivery while safeguarding patient rights.
Ghana's "Highlife to the World: Black Star Experience 2027" campaign was officially launched in Barcelona on 2 August 2026, marking the start of a global initiative to promote the country's iconic music genre ahead of its 70th anniversary celebrations. The campaign will feature workshops, masterclasses and concerts across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The Ghana Education Trust Fund and UNESCO have signed a Letter of Intent to develop digital and artificial intelligence competencies across Ghana's Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions, aimed at equipping young Ghanaians with skills for a technology-driven economy.
Ghana has inaugurated the General Assembly of the Ghana Commission for UNESCO, the country's highest decision-making body for guiding national engagement with UNESCO, as part of implementing the Ghana Commission for UNESCO Act 2023. Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu highlighted the Assembly's role in the Commission's governance and noted members may represent Ghana at international engagements including meetings at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
Leading academics have called for postgraduate training in Ghana to shift from traditional thesis writing towards research delivering practical solutions to socio-economic challenges such as youth unemployment, climate change, and economic pressures. They emphasized the need for higher education to move away from disciplinary silos and foster interdisciplinary research with industry links.
A national study presented in Accra on 28 July 2026 found widespread sexual harassment and discrimination against young women in Ghana's creative sector. The Behind the Scenes project, led by researchers at the University of Cape Coast with support from the International Center for Research on Women and the Mastercard Foundation, called for safer workplaces and stronger gender equity measures.
Ambassador Johanna Swaniker, founder of Tech for Girls, has called for increased financial and institutional support to expand the programme that trains young women aged 18–35 in coding and digital technology, citing funding as the biggest challenge to scaling the initiative despite growing demand.
Foreign diplomats, a UNESCO official, and students toured historic forts and landmarks in Ahanta West on July 26, 2026, during the month-long Ahanta Heritage Month celebrations. The tour, organized by the Member of Parliament for Ahanta West, visited Fort Gross Friedrichsburg, Cape Three Points, and Fort Batenstein in Butre.
Egypt plans to sign seven Memoranda of Understanding with Ghana covering education, technology, pharmaceuticals, cybersecurity, and cultural heritage restoration to deepen bilateral cooperation. The agreements are part of preparations to celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations next year and include plans to revive the Ghana-Egypt Joint Commission, which has not met for about three decades.
The Director of the Institute of Applied Science and Technology at the University of Ghana has called for Ghana and Africa to transform untapped data into AI solutions for health, agriculture, climate change and other societal challenges. He noted that over the past five years, AI investment in Africa has surged from roughly $1.2 billion to an estimated $4.1 billion.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Emelia Arthur says the government is strengthening international partnerships to address illegal fishing, climate change, marine pollution, and declining fish stocks through collaboration with organisations including Blue Ventures Conservation, the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, UNESCO, and other global institutions.
Ghana's Highlife to the World campaign has launched internationally with a masterclass in Paris, celebrating the history and global influence of Highlife music following its inscription on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The initiative, organised by MUSIGA in partnership with BenayaCon Promotions and ShowBiz Africa, aims to preserve and promote Highlife on the global stage.
Ghana will hold a concert in Barcelona on August 2, 2026, to launch the 'Highlife to the World – BlackStar Experience 2027' global campaign, promoting and preserving Ghana's UNESCO-inscribed Highlife music and dance ahead of a worldwide rollout beginning in March 2027.
Ghana will launch the 'Highlife to the World – BlackStar Experience 2027' global campaign with a concert in Barcelona on August 2, 2026, featuring Ghanaian artists including Stonebwoy, Obrafour, and others. The campaign, organised by the Ghana Embassy in Madrid and partners, aims to promote and preserve Ghana's UNESCO-inscribed Highlife music and dance ahead of a worldwide rollout in March 2027.
At the European Forum Alpbach 2026, discussants argued that while artificial intelligence is transforming news gathering and distribution, editorial judgment, ethical decision-making, and independent verification remain fundamentally human tasks. Credibility has become journalism's greatest competitive advantage in an era of instant digital content creation, especially as manipulated videos and AI-generated content spread rapidly during major conflicts.
Ghana's Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George reaffirmed government commitment to digital transformation in talks with UNDP, discussing flagship digital initiatives, AI for public service delivery, and plans for a national fintech fund aligned with a proposed innovation and startup legislative framework. UNDP outlined progress on three collaboration areas: an Italian-supported digital flagship project, an MSME digital platform initiative, and a Japanese-backed AI programme for public service delivery.
Free press enables democracies to function by equipping citizens with accurate information to scrutinise leaders and participate in civic life. Journalists face increasing risks globally, including killing, detention and harassment, particularly those reporting on corruption and conflict.
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Ghana held its 14th graduation ceremony on 27 June 2026, conferring Master of Science degrees in Mathematical Sciences to 130 students — its largest graduating class — drawn from 24 African countries. The cohort comprised 49 graduates from the regular MSc programme and 81 from the Master of Mathematical Sciences for Teachers programme, with 30% female representation overall.
According to Joy Online, the number of journalists killed, detained, or forced into exile in 2025 reached one of the highest levels ever recorded. The article argues that without a free press, atrocities go unrecorded and democratic accountability is undermined.
Business Strategy Analyst Jules Nartey-Tokoli argues that while AI systems can imitate intelligent behavior through computational speed, vast datasets, and complex algorithms, they do not possess intelligence comparable to human beings; true intelligence, he contends, is a natural phenomenon rooted in living minds.
Heads of State and Government, ministers, and civil society leaders adopted the "Accra Next Steps Commitments on Reparatory Justice" at a three-day consultative conference in Accra, establishing a roadmap to implement a landmark UN resolution that declared the trafficking and enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. The conference, convened by President John Dramani Mahama in his role as African Union Champion on Advancing the Cause of Justice and the Payment of Reparations to Africans, brought together representatives from 123 UN member states that supported the resolution.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa expressed confidence that the global campaign for reparatory justice for Africans is approaching a breakthrough, citing unprecedented international support since a landmark UN resolution on slavery. President Mahama, serving as African Union Champion for Reparatory Justice, convened a three-day High-Level Next Steps Conference in Accra bringing together heads of state, foreign ministers, legal experts, and diaspora representatives to deliberate on the next phase of the reparations agenda.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called on the United Nations, UNESCO, and African Union to support the global push for reparatory justice as a necessary step in addressing the historical legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. Speaking virtually at the Next Steps Conference on Reparatory Justice in Accra, Macron proposed launching an international scientific initiative with Ghana and other participating countries and institutions to formulate concrete recommendations.
The Yilo Krobo Municipality has achieved significant infrastructure expansion and improvements in public service delivery within the first year of the NDC administration, according to the MCE. Key accomplishments include completion and commissioning of healthcare facilities, and the assembly's focus on healthcare, education, sanitation, roads, agriculture, and employment creation.