The maiden edition of the Ladé Wosornu Students Poetry Contest, an initiative under the Black Star Experience programme aimed at honouring and immortalising Ghanaian creative arts legend Professor Ladé Wosornu, has been held in Accra.

The annual national student literary and arts incubation programme is organised by the Creative Arts Agency Ghana in partnership with the Ghana Library Authority and the Pan-African Writers Association, with support from the Professor Ladé Wosornu Trust.

The contest forms part of the Creative Arts Agency’s “Grow the Artist-in-Me!” project. It is designed to create a platform that encourages the appreciation and patronage of Ghanaian poetry among students, while preserving and promoting indigenous Ghanaian languages, an advocacy championed by Zukpitor Professor Ladé Wosornu.

The competition is one of the branches of the Ladé Wosornu Literary Nest initiative announced last year by the Acting Executive Secretary of the Creative Arts Agency, Mr Gideon Aryeequaye. The programme is expected to be organised at the regional level before climaxing with a national final involving winners from the various regions.

The pilot edition took place at the National Children’s Library at Airport City and featured six senior high schools in Accra that study Ghanaian languages: Accra High School, Accra Girls SHS, Ebenezer SHS, Labone SHS, St Thomas Aquinas SHS and Wesley Grammar SHS.

Each school creatively presented the selected poem, “Raider of the Treasure Trove”, written by Professor Ladé Wosornu, in both English and Ga, and also answered questions on the poem for points.

At the end of the keenly contested event, Accra High School emerged winners, with Accra Girls SHS placing second and Wesley Grammar School taking third position.

Accra High School also won the Most Creative Group Award, while Wesley Grammar School received the award for Best Ga Presentation. Accra Girls SHS won the Best English Presentation award.

Awura Oforiwaa was adjudged the Student Spoken Word Artist of the contest.

Other supporters of the debut Ladé Wosornu Students Poetry Contest included Ghana Tourism Development Company Official, National Film Authority, Yumvita Ghana, Apple Man Ghana and Breathing Art Studio.