STMA to export Masquerader’s culture to Italy

The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) plans to organise transnational cultural festivals in Sekondi-Takoradi and Palermo.

STMA and its sister city in Italy, Palermo Municipality, are collaborating to co-create an Integrated Urban Governance for Green, Sustainable and Inclusive Development of the Metropolis.

The collaboration, which is under the “Twin-Cities in Sustainable Partnership project”, is to strengthen the relationship that began with the city of Palermo (Italy).

The overall objective of the three-year project was to promote Sustainable and Integrated Urban Development in the two cities.

At the launch of the event at the Best Western Plus Hotel in Takoradi on Thursday, February 17, the coordinator, Mr Isaac Aidoo said the Twin Cities In Sustainable Partnership Project is a 3 million euro project which 95% will be funded by the European Union (EU) and 5% by the STMA.

However, one of the activities that will be implemented during the project is the organisation of a transnational cultural festival in which the popular masquerader’s culture in Takoradi will be exported to Palermo, Italy whiles an Italian culture will also be imported to Takoradi.

According to him, this is an effort to make the Maquerader’s culture the biggest in the world and also internationally recognised in the effort of making Sekondi-Takoradi a tourist haven all year round.

Also, Sekondi-Takoradi will be recognised worldwide with this effort through their unique culture and tradition that will attract thousands of visitors.

Some Activities to be implemented:

1. Conduct a multi-dimensional baseline survey on integrated urban development in Sekondi-Takoradi.
2. Training of 150 members of the Metropolitan Planning Coordinating Unit, Spatial Planning Committee and Stakeholders in Integrated Urban Governance and Spatial Planning.
3. Training for 60 community leaders and 40 other selected stakeholders on social accountability tools.
4. Co-design the functionality of the STMA’s e-Governance platform.
5. Organise quarterly awareness events on municipal rates and fees to enhace revenue generation.
6. Organise transnational exchange visits to strenthen the twining-ralationship between the cities of Sekondi-Takoradi and Parlemo.
7. Training of 50 Vulnerable groups (Inlcuding fisherfols), 50 small-holder vegetable Farmers and 200 unemployed women in youth and Urban Agriculture
8. Provision of decent toilet facilities for 500 housing units to benefit the poor households in low-income communities.
9. Skills development training for 150 unemployed youth and women in green social enterprises.
10. Organise transnational cultural festivals in Sekondi-Takoradi and Palermo.