This year, a year to his 5th year in the poetry/spoken word field and Oswald is due to take his 5th prestigious award. This time, it is the “Pan-African Poet/Spoken word artist of the Year” award.
Oswald Okaitei is a Performer Poet who combines music with poetry lines and verses to paint imagery in the eyes of the mind. He is a World Poetry & Canada International Director in Ghana. Oswald recently represented Ghana at the just ended Ugandan (Babishai Niwe) Poetry Festival where he ran a workshop on Poetry Entrepreneurship, participated in a panel discussion that seeks to promote a poetry caravan across Africa and also performed.
He is one of the fresh breaths to poetry/spoken word worldwide. In recent times, he has conceptualized, directed and produced different poems by Prof. Lade Wosornu in a one act captioned “The Lade’s Capsule”, staged “Ete”, another poem by Prof. Lade Wosornu.
Oswald has also performed on national and international platforms and he was the only featured poet at the 8th Pan-African Congress. Some poets/spoken word artistes he has shared performing platforms with include Prof. Kofi Anyidoho, Prof. Atukwei Okai, Prof. Lade Wosornu, Muta Baruka and Rocky Dawuni.
The Awards event is organized by the Confederation of Governance Assessment Institute (COGAI), a non-profit and non-partisan organization which works to ensure that policies formulated and implemented by governing bodies and public institutions are tailored to meet the socio-economic needs of the people for the achievement of sustainable development.
Some other personalities/institutions to be awarded include Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Former President John Agyekum Kuffuor, Kwesi Pratt Jr,. Amenfiman Rural Bank, Breast Care International among others.
In a letter sent to Oswald, Dr. Henry K. Mensah, Selection Committee Chairman, stated:
“On behalf of the Steering committee and the organizing committee of the OSAGYEFO CORPORATE FESTIVAL AND PAN AFRICAN EMINENCE AWARDS, congratulations on being chosen for the 2016 PAN AFRICAN EMINENCE AWARDS. You (OSWALD OKAITEI) were chosen because of your immense contribution in promoting poetry through artistic and rhythmic character of verbal communication by the use of phonaesthetics, sound symbolism and metre which tends to induce meanings in addition to, or in place of prosaic professed meaning.
Many pan-African poet and spoken word artistes were nominated and through comprehensive research and gathered information, the Selection committee gave careful consideration and you emerged the PAN-AFRICAN POET AND SPOKEN WORD ARTISTE OF THE YEAR.”
The award Ceremony will be in two sessions. Oswald’s award as (PAN-AFRICAN POET AND SPOKEN WORD ARTISTE OF THE YEAR.) falls under the Global session. The venue for the Award giving ceremony is the main auditorium of the International Conference Centre on 15th October, 2016 at 6pm prompt.
