The Executive Director of Child's Rights International, Mr Bright Appiah, has suggested that the national celebration of the Independence Day anniversary should be rotated in the regions to build interest and nationalism in the children across the country. Mr Appiah said once the national event was held regionally, it would help build the confidence level and assertiveness of schoolchildren. He told the Daily Graphic that having a region to host the event a day would also ensure cultural diversity, since the various regions apart from making them feel part of the national event, would have the opportunity to showcase their cultures. Mr Appiah stated that the display of schoolchildren was excellent and that children in other parts of the country would benefit from the training their colleagues in Accra had. "The use of children entirely during the 53rd independence anniversary was excellent. It will imbibe in children a sense of nationalism and patriotism," he said. According to Mr Appiah, about 80 per cent of the government's policies were geared towards children and that there was the need for the beneficiaries to understand the government's investments in their lives. He said children formed a greater part of the population and that as the 2000 census of the Ghana Statistical Service indicated, children below 18 years formed 52 per cent of the population. He, therefore, charged children to take advantage of an opportunity such as the Independence Day event since they had a role to play in national development. Mr Appiah said participation in national events was a right and not a privilege, saying that children had the responsibility to deliver in that direction. He expressed the hope that the use of schoolchildren would be the beginning of programmes to involve children in national activities in the country. Once children were actively involved they would see themselves as part of nation building, he said. Mr Appiah advised schoolchildren to take the Independence Day message of President J.E.A. Mills seriously as it would go a long way to impact their lives positively. The message, he said, bordered on discipline and nationalism which should not be ignored. President Mills, in his message, gave the assurance that his administration would not renege on its pledge to give depth and modern-day meaning to the educational system that would create the opportunities for the youth to take advantage of. He said he would continue to play host to well-behaved pupils and students to drum home the fact that virtue was a trait that must be placed on a high pedestal. He reiterated the government's commitment to invest in the youth in order to build the critical mass that would sustain the development agenda and further move it to higher heights. The 53rd Independence Day was celebrated on the theme: "Investing in the Youth for a Better Ghana". Source: Daily Graphic