Cultural Education Via Cultural Symbols for Interior and Exterior Decorations of Public Buildings

The cultures of people have great potentials in inculcating values and norms into its members. These values and norms disseminated through cultural education help in fostering good living relations among society members. In most cultures of the world, special cultural symbols are normally used for educating the norms and values of one's culture. Good behavioral traits such as humility, hospitality, honesty, hard work, and respect are extolled in the symbolic and philosophical meanings enshrined in these cultural symbols. For example, in Ghana, the Adinkra symbols are culturally charged designs that illustrate the accepted values and norms in the Ghanaian community. These culture oriented symbols must be used for decorating the interiors and exteriors of public buildings like community centers, libraries, banks, hotels, restaurants and so forth. This would heighten the cultural education avenues in Ghana.

The culture-oriented symbols like Adinkra symbols offer powerful counsel and practical insight into life. It provides moral instruction to the people. For instance, the Gye-Nyame (Except God) symbol educates us on the pivotal role of God in the life of man. Thus, living in harmony with His virtues results in a successful life. Also, the Nkyinkyim (curves) symbol indicates that life is not a smooth path. It is full of ups and downs, hopes and disappointments. Thus, it offers the practical advice that one needs to be versatile in life as well as adapt to changing situations and circumstances. These and many other cultural symbols impart practical knowledge to challenging situations in life and thus must be made readily available in public buildings as forms of decorations.

Many people visit various public structures to attend to their diverse needs. For instance, many students go to various public libraries to read and undertake various research activities. Numerous families and friends visit restaurants and hotels for relaxation and recreational purposes. A critical look at the designs that are found in the interiors and exteriors of public buildings, especially in Ghana show designs that are appreciated only for their aesthetic appeal. These are normally interplay of elements of design such as lines, shapes, colors and many others that do not hold any symbolic significance. They also do not impart any cultural education to the numerous people who troop in and out of the public buildings. Thus, symbols that impart cultural knowledge of societies must be used as substitutes for these often meaningless decorations on public buildings. If the public buildings are decorated with culture-oriented symbols with brief philosophical meanings written beneath them, the attendees would be able to tap indirectly, cultural education via the cultural symbols. This would ensure the promotion and preservation of the rich, time-tested and applicable values and norms embedded in these cultural symbols.

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 By Dickson Adom


Article Source: Cultural Education Via Cultural Symbols for Interior and Exterior Decorations of Public Buildings