Intellectual Property Rights can help Africa achieve development – Abodakpi
Accra (Greater Accra) 25 July 2000
Ghana will host the first ever University of Pittsburgh International Jazz Seminar and concert in Africa from the December 15 to 16.
The event would be the second of its kind to be held outside the USA since the beginning of the series in 1969.
National Theatre in collaboration with the International Centre for Africa Music and Dance would host it.
A statement issued on Monday in Accra said the jazz seminar would present courses and workshops in jazz improvisation, arranging composition and performance techniques.
The statement noted that a similar seminar and concert were held in Bahia, Brazil, in December 1999 in which Professor Komla Amoaku, Executive Director of the National Theatre, participated.
He made a presentation and performed together with James Moody, Abraham Laboriel, Idris Muhammad, Seri Allen, Nathan Davis and others.
It said the Bahavia festival added more emphasis to relations between Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa with the intention of breaking cultural isolations between the countries through the formation of networks to stimulate cultural markets.
Participants would discuss social aspects of music such as history, business relations, research and rehearsal techniques and development of jazz in Ghana as well as the state of jazz music worldwide.
It would involve jazz stars like Dr Nathan Davis, who is also the Director of the internationally acclaimed Jazz studies program and the international Jazz Hall of Fame at the University of Pittsburgh.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 25 July 2000
Mr Dan Abodakpi, Minister of Trade and Industry on Monday urged African countries to utilise the opportunities offered by intellectual property rights to develop their economies and improve their standing in multilateral trading systems.
Opening a three-day international workshop in Accra on "Strengthening Competitiveness in Innovation, Culture, Traditional Know-how and Bio Resources", Mr Abodakpi underscored the benefits of intellectual property rights, noting that Africa has a huge untapped resources in them.
"From the standpoint of trade, there is considerable correlation between intellectual property and increased trade and development. The African continent is boundlessly endowed with nature and its potential is infinite.
"Africa can also boast of its unique way of life, which to me, constitutes areas which qualify for protection. I have in mind here areas such as cloth weaving - Ghana's popular Kente and Adinkra designs may be mentioned - cloth dyeing techniques, herbal medicine and healing as well as food preservation and conservation."
Mr Abodakpi, therefore, urged the participants, who include policy makers, scholars and experts from countries of the South, to focus on the issue and make recommendations that could be adopted to strengthen Africa's position in the era of globalisation.
Mr Abodakpi stressed the need to strengthen the capacity of countries to benefit from globalisation and commended the UNDP for organising the workshop.
He, however, noted that it is important for weak countries to make their own efforts at strengthening their positions, saying, "it is important for us to look for our won path of protection, for ours will be more adaptive to our circumstances.
"From all indications, the imbalance tends to weigh heavily rather on small and weak nations, especially African countries. I may mention here the numerous obligations, especially relevant legislation or legislative adaptation in all seven areas of the WTO Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights.
"All these obligations we are expected to fulfil in spite of the fact that in our countries, the necessary structures required for the fulfilment of such assignments are either non-existent or weak".
The participants are from Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Costa Rica, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Korea, Uganda, Thailand, Kenya and Benin.
There are resource persons from United States, Switzerland and United Nations agencies including UNDP, and UNCTAD.
The UNDP organised the workshop and is hosted by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
The main objectives include introducing a framework for co-operation covering innovation, culture, traditional-know-how and bio resources.
It would examine existing mechanisms in some participating countries to strengthen national efforts through sub-regional and inter-regional co-operation.
Mr Alfred Fawundu, UNDP Resident Representative, noted that there are numerous economic problems confronting Africa in spite of economic reform programmes that have been implemented over the years.
He said in order to reduce poverty levels by half by 2015, African economies have to grow by eight per cent annually for the next 15 years.
"Sub-Saharan Africa's prospects for economic growth will depend largely on its competitiveness in areas where it has comparative advantage in the global scheme of things.
"The issue facing the developing world, as a whole, in the coming decades is not merely whether to participate in the globalisation process, but rather to do so in ways that would promote their competitiveness."
Mr Fawundu said the workshop is, therefore, part of the initiatives of the UNDP to support the developing world to address issues of competitiveness.
It will help the countries to strengthen institutions and policy framework in relevant issues to increase their competitive edge. Similar programmes have been launched for the Arab State region, he said.
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