The Minister of Information announced that the Ministry is working together with the government, to turn NAFTI into a fully fledged Media Arts University to provide the necessary professional skills to grow the creative economy in Ghana.

This was announced at the 9th Congregation of the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) on March 31, 2012, the first held on the NAFTI CAmpus, since the commencement of its BFA Degree Programme in affiliation with the University of Ghana in 1999.

The Institute graduated 27 students who had satisfied the requirements for their courses of study in various fields of specialisation offered by NAFTI.

The Minster said, in order to help NAFTI attain its vision of a Media Arts University, the Ministry is working with the government to acacess a credit facility to assist the Institute in its restructuring, infrastructural and technological development. We are hoping that very soon, we will be able to announce the approval of this facility”,

Hon. Fritz Baffour, the Minister of Information who was the Special Guest at the ceremony, urged the graduands to be conscious of the nature of images they provide to the public as they are about to go out into the Creative Industry. He also encouraged them to keep abreast with the modern technological and creative changes taking place globally in the industry.

“Go out there into the industry and make a difference in making positive films that do not demean our cultures, but enhance our sense of self worth”, said Hon. Fritz Baffour.

In his address, Prof. Linus Abraham, Rector of NAFTI, touched on the introduction of two departments at the Institute as the Institute grows to become a Media Arts University. The Broadcast Journalism Department and the Multi Media Design and Production Department will be introduced in line with NAFTI’s strategic direction and expansion beyond the Institute’s traditional film curricula. According to Prof. Abraham, NAFTI is also introducing a Professional MFA in Digital Film-Making, in affiliation with the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, Germany.

Film and television training, according to the Rector, is a capital intensive programme, which requires a lot of investment in technological facilities for training. This he said accounts for part of the limited numbers of students that the school takes in yearly. Prof. Abraham said that it is envisaged that the number of student intake will increase to about 100 students in August 2012.

Prof. Abraham thanked the Ministry of Information for its continuing work to help NAFTI through the government to procure a credit facility to enhance both the academic and commercial growth of the Institute.

“It is the Institute’s hope that government and parliament would support the acquisition of the credit facility to facilitate refurbishment of NAFTI into a sub-regional centre of excellence in training in the Creative and Media Arts, to facilitate development of the Creative Industry in Ghana”, said Prof. Abraham.

Addressing the graduands, Mr. Kwaw Ansah, CEO of TV Africa, congratulated the graduates and informed them that they are going into an industry which has an important role to play in the development of the African continent.

“Whether the industry will be important or not is dependent on what you use your certificates for. You have in your hands an important tool to enable you as filmmakers freeze the decay in our industry”, advised Mr. Ansah.

Prof. Kofi Anyidoho, Board Chairman of NAFTI also told the graduands that they are about to embark on a more challenging journey than what they have been through, passing through the Institute. According to him, everyone watches movies and as such, there is no shortage for the demand of products of the nation’s premiere film training institution.