DeCoDe receives Citation of Recognition from AaGh

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The Department of Communication Design participated in the 2024 edition of the Ghana Animation Week held from the 4th to 8th November, 2024 at Goethe Institut, Accra. The theme for the week celebration was “Animating the Future, African Stories, Global Impact”. The 5-day event was launched on the first day, bringing together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds such as Independent Animators, students, Educators, Film Critics, Digital Illustrators, Advertisers, Representatives from Animation studios, Government and Private agencies as well as enthusiasts. Speakers at the launch re-emphasized the significant role of Animation in Ghana’s creative industries with the capacity to rake in high economic returns and foster growth of businesses. Animation was also identified as key aspect of 21st century education to support and maximise learning at all levels of education. Participants were therefore encouraged to collaborate strongly to ensure a sustainable growth of the industry. As part of the weeklong programme, Executives and other members of the association engaged in Senior High Animation Workshops, with the aim of encouraging young creatives to identify their talents and pursue careers in, and related to animation. A representative from the Department was invited to speak to students on various prospects of studying visual arts, as well as requirements for furthering at the tertiary level. This served as a platform for the department to advertise and attract the best of applicants in its programme offerings. Other activities for the week were screenings of selected animated works. These included “Asantewaa”, an award-winning animated movie based on the story of Yaa Asantewaa by Mills Media; animated productions by students from the Department of Communication Design and other independent Animators. Interactive discussions followed after each screening where producers, animators and students responded to questions about their works. This served as a platform for interactive and technical discussions. It is worth noting that animated productions from students from the Department received high praise. Participants alluded to the quality of work done in terms of storyline, animation techniques and overall visual appeal. Notable among such student productions are animated productions based on historical and cultural narratives of Ghanaian culture, supervised by Mr. Benjamin Prempeh, Lecturer with the Multimedia unit of the department.

At the closing ceremony, the Department was honoured with a Citation of Recognition for its immense role in providing training for students in animation and other related fields in the creative industries; as well as its essential support in the work of the Association and the Ghanaian Animation Industry as a whole. The Association as well as other participant present expressed interest in collaborating with the Department in the coming year for more impactful engagements to the development of the industry and training institutions.