BNESCO prepares for cultural exchange

Margaret M. Feagan is finishing the condition reports on the dolls which have been started by the Registered Tryon Doll Makers that will be traveling to Accra, Ghana next week.

This inner-cultural exchange between Doll Makers in both Tryon and Accra, Ghana, is a project sponsored by BNESCO to help raise inner-cultural awareness and capacity using thread, fabric and stories.  The Dolls being sent from Tryon will be worked on by Doll Makers in Ghana and returned to Tryon where they will be worked on some more and returned to Ghana.  After several times back and forth, the Dolls will be exhibited in both Tryon and Accra in an international exhibition on cooperation through crafts.  In addition, children in both Tryon and Accra will be exchanging letters and pictures and communicating on-line via You Tube as part of the project.

Ghana Doll Maker, Yvonne Plange said recently in an email, "There will be a lot to learn about each other's culture, though we have similar cultural backgrounds, we will all get to know the ROOTS and keep us more as a family."  U.S Cultural Affairs Specialist, Sophia Bosompem in the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana was instrumental in helping facilitate the meeting of the two groups and has been supportive of the project since the beginning.