News
US Ambassador visits development partners in Northern Regions
Ambassador Stephanie S. Sullivan, last week, paid a visit to development partners in Tamale, Yendi, Buipe, and Salaga, affirming the United States’ commitment to Peacebuilding and development in the Northern Region.
She held meetings with, Mr Shanui Alhassan Shaibu, the Northern Regional Minister and Chairman of the Regional Security Council, as well as representatives of the Northern Regional Peace Council and West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP).
The Ambassador met with traditional leaders including the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Naa Abukari II, Mion Lana Abdulai Mahamadu, Paramount Chief of Buipe, Buipewura Abdulai Jinapor II, and Paramount Chief of Salaga, Kpembewura Bangabe Ndefuso IV.
She congratulated the Northern Regional Peace Council and WANEP on their work and urged them to continue building community resilience, reinforcing social cohesion, and help individuals to reject extremism.
The Ambassador highlighted United States Agency for International Development (USAID) projects and pledged to support initiatives meant to equip traditional authorities and Regional Peace Councils with skills and knowledge to mediate conflicts in their jurisdictions.
Mrs Sullivan visited the Buipe Port in the Savannah Region where USAID’s West Africa Trade and Investment Hub is supporting businesses in the north to develop export partnerships to access international markets.
The Ambassador again visited a new Trauma and Emergency Ward at the Yendi Government Hospital being constructed by Mission:318, a private U.S. charitable organisation that has provided medical services and supplies to the Yendi community for more than 10 years.
“Americans’ deep connection with Ghanaians is not just about the strong and enduring partnership with the U.S. Government. Mission:318 models many of the values of the American people – sharing the fruits of our prosperity and helping others to help themselves,” she said.
Coinciding with the start of Women’s History Month, the Ambassador further met with six female alumni of U.S. exchange programmes, focused on peace and security, countering extremism, and empowering civil society.
By Spectator Reporter
The Government of the Republic of Korea has presented a second consignment of equipment to support the study, maintenance and preservation of Ghana’s historic forts and castles under the Korea-Ghana ICT Climate Project.
At the handover ceremony in Accra, today, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, expressed appreciation for Korea’s continued support, including its US$4.5 million intervention towards heritage preservation, technical assistance and capacity building.
The equipment will strengthen the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board’s efforts to address the impact of climate change on Ghana’s historic heritage infrastructure.
The Ministry noted that they remain committed to working with international partners to safeguard Ghana’s priceless heritage for present and future generations.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Association of Spouses of Heads of Diplomatic Missions and International Organizations (ASOHOM) brought art, diplomacy and philanthropy together for its glamorous black-tie charity gala, centred on the urgent theme of sustainable water futures.
At the heart of the evening was ‘Woven Currents’, a thought-provoking commissioned exhibition co-curated by Fang W. Linulf of LogonART and Fadila Njoya from Gallery Sankofa, showcasing five outstanding Ghanaian artists confronting water pollution, coastal decay, ancestral memory and ecological regeneration.
Housed within a versatile multi-function hall, far from a conventional white-cube gallery, the venue underwent a dramatic creative transformation.
Drawing on her professional architectural background, curator Fang W. Linulf reimagined the standard event space into a vivid, immersive exhibition environment through bold spatial storytelling.
Monumental art installations encircled gala guests, breaking traditional viewing boundaries and forging a remarkably intimate, visceral connection between viewers and the artworks.
Guided by a powerful curatorial vision, ‘Woven Currents’ positioned art as a call to action: to honour, safeguard and collectively steward Africa’s precious shared water heritage.
Each artwork responded directly to Ghana’s pressing aquatic realities.
Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku’s towering textile installation breathed new life into discarded local second-hand ‘Oburoni Wawu’ garments, delivering a searing commentary on waste colonialism and textile-fuelled ocean contamination.
Patrick Tagoe Turkson crafted intricate assemblages from beach-salvaged flip flops and abandoned ghost fishing nets, weaving Asafo flag and Kente cloth iconography into marine debris to unite indigenous cultural wisdom with modern-day ecological crisis.
Sena Burgundy presented introspective blue-hued figurative canvases exploring inner reflection set against shifting environmental realities.
Nana Frimpong Oduro exhibited dream-like surreal photography rooted in Akan cosmology, capturing ancestral echoes and human resilience within Ghana’s coastal waters.
Evans Torngmortey Akornor built evocative threshold-themed mixed media works from fishing shore remnants, unpacking visible and unseen layers of shoreline history.
Attendees also experienced the poignant live dance performance ‘Cry of the River’ by Vivie’s Dance.
The night featured a high-energy live auction of five signature exhibition artworks alongside a raffle draw. Every penny raised went toward vital humanitarian support for vulnerable communities across Ghana.
Diplomatic delegates, collectors, artists and cultural leaders filled the room.
The curatorial team stressed that ‘Woven Currents’ was never mere gala decoration.
It delivered grounded, locally-centred artistic narratives that enriched formal policy conversations on water conservation, repurposing a diplomatic social gathering into a dynamic public platform for ecological dialogue and meaningful giving.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
