The Anglican Bishop of Accra, His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Dr. Sylvanus Daniel Mensah Torto, has underscored the importance of books.
According to him, books are essential, not only for their knowledge enhancing purposes, but health improving abilities as well.
“Books play an essential role in every student’s life. It introduces you to a world of imagination, provides knowledge of the outside world, improves your reading, writing and speaking skills as well as boost memory and enhance intelligence,” he said.
The Anglican Bishop of Accra, therefore encouraged everyone who has the ability, to share their knowledge and experiences by authoring a book.
“I would like to take the opportunity to encourage anyone who feels capable, to document their thoughts and share their knowledge. By so doing, you will not only satisfy your personal desires, you leave a legacy,” Bishop Torto said.
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Bishop Sylvanus Daniel Mensah Torto said this when he launched two books written by Eric Mensah-Ayettey, a seasoned Journalist and Public Relations Practitioner.
The books, which were published by Adwinsa Publications Limited, are:
- Eric’s Diary: A Guide to Writing Feature ArticlesUsing The 5ws And H + M, O/R
- Eric’s Diary: Creatively writing with the 5Ws and H
The Cleric described the contents of the two books as, “not only educative, they are informative and entertaining.”
The Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Prof. Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo lauded the Author for the effort to contribute to existing literature on writing skills enhancement.
“GIJ subjected the books to the test and they passed hence the decision to introduce it to our students,” he noted.
The Author, Mr. Eric Mensah-Ayettey explained the inspiration for the books.
“Throughout my 25 years of practicing journalism, Public Relations and Advertising, I have observed that most people have difficulty in writing simple official letters, press statements, policy briefs, fact sheets, talk less of position papers and speeches,” he explained.
“My real diagnosis is that many do not have a grasp of the rules of grammar. That’s mainly because they don’t read. Neither do they listen to good English,” said the author.
The award winning journalist noted that, “this calls for more work to be done at the primary and secondary school levels. I urge Teachers at these levels of our educational system, to evolve the right pedagogy methods to change this situation. As a communications practitioner, I believe I can contribute to improve the situation by offering some guidance to all persons whose work involves writing, hence this book.”
Mr. Mensah-Ayettey acknowledges that the 5Ws and H (Who, What, Where, Why, When and How) are classically meant for news report writing, “however, in my 25 years’ experience as a journalist and Public Relations practitioner, I dare say that the concept can be applied to speech writing, fact sheets and feature writing,” he added.
He announced that proceeds from the sale of the books will be used to pursue an Mphil programme in communication studies, in addition to his Master of Public Affairs degree, to enable him contribute formally to the training of communication professionals for the country.
“To begin with, I donate 10 copies each of the books to the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) as prizes for best graduating students in Feature and Creative Writing respectively each year,” Mr. Mensah-Ayettey announced.
The first copies of the books were auctioned for $200.
The Anglican Bishop of Accra, Rt. Rev. Dr. Sylvanus Daniel Mensah-Torto launching the books. With him are; the Author- Eric Mensah-Ayettey (Middle) and Mr. Duke Tettey Ayettey.
The ‘Reveal Team’. From Left- Mr. Ato Swatson, Mrs. Ruth Gyang, Mrs. Jacqueline Daku-Mante, Rev. Veronica Darko, Rt. Rev. S. D. M. Torto, Mr. Eric Mensah-Ayettey and Mr. Duke Tettey Ayettey.
