2006-04-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

THE CULTURE DOT COM
"Challey, can you spare me some CDs to activate my new driver?" Someone asking for CDs? Forget it, if Challey has no condoms to spare for whatever is to be done to this new lady, the “new speak” goes on demanding “you mean you don’t have any anti(s) at all?” The alternative is an anti virus of course – any other emergency protection against hiv-aids. But you know these are all Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) terms being applied by the youth to their sex life.

The ICT evolution is driving the dynamism of language and culture to the limits. While people complain, others appreciate in astonishment the magnitude and diversity of opportunities for Ghanaian cultural exposition and advancement through ICTs.

Basically, those who cannot accommodate abbreviations like WWW.COM, ISP, GIIT, ICANN, ICT4D, etc (mouthful), develop comprehension diarrhea. Dress codes abhorred are traced to the net and the up scaled attraction to foreign cultural practices in Ghana is not left out.

ICT offers numerous opportunities for developing countries like Ghana. It is a fact that African content and for that matter, Ghanaian culture is almost non existent on the world’s theatre and museum – the internet.

Evidently, some countries especially the west, have taken the lead in projecting what they have to their advantage for now. From the cradle - the English language, in dressing - jeans, in business and family life – the individual is the philosophy. This is obviously extended into technology – one person, one PC. The foresight and creative initiative from soft and hard ware engineers, cultural and business institutions as well as communicators have sprayed the “western scent” all over the globe.

ICTs as enablers of globalization can bridge the inequalities. Like the westerners our Government, Corporate Institutions, Traditional Authorities, Civil Society, Individuals etc all have a share in the expanded cultural platform created by the web.

ICTs are part of culture. Their uses are examples of cultural artifacts or practices that can be viewed as material manifestations of culture. Mr. Hofstede (1992 page 237) identifies organizational culture as “practices” and national culture as “values”. He explains further that organizational culture is “the collective programming of the mind which characterizes the members of one organization from others. For national culture, he says it is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another.

We have symbols, heroes, rituals and values to share through the web. Ananse stories in cartoons brewed in solid Ghanaian morals can easily become children’s number one choice across the earth overnight. What about the captivating variety of traditional games, music, dances and other forms of entertainment in audio, video and text? The urge to project our culture as Ghanaians must definitely be sharper than Challey’s friend’s desires. It is not only a business but also a duty for all.

Kofi Larweh