ACTI Ghana

ABOUT US

The Asante Cultural & Traditional Institute

The Asante Cultural and Traditional Institute is a non-governmental organisation based in Kumasi, Ghana.

Established with a passion for safeguarding and transmitting the cultural legacy of the Asante people, the institute serves as a beacon of knowledge, bridging the past with the present for the benefit of current and future generations.

Ashanti chiefs and elders in traditional Kente cloth, representing the cultural heritage the Asante Cultural and Traditional Institute preserves

Our Story

Why the institute exists

Asante culture is carried by people. The rites of a festival, the language of the palace, the meaning of a cloth, and the duty of a chief are learned beside those who already know them. When that chain breaks, what is left on paper is thin.

The Asante Cultural and Traditional Institute was set up in Kumasi to keep the chain intact. It prepares nominated chiefs and elders for the tradition they are asked to hold, and it opens that same heritage to students and the public who want to understand it properly.

The work is practical. Courses take in history, Twi, ceremony, craft, and food. Leadership training covers the ethics of the stool. Apprenticeships put kente, Adinkra, and pottery in the hands. Oral-history work records what elders still remember, while they are here to tell it.

Vision

Preserving and promoting Asante culture for generations to come.

Learning Cultural Values from the Experts

A chief seated among elders, wearing kente and gold regalia.

Mission

To educate and empower nominated chiefs, elders, and the wider public in Asante cultural practice, so the traditions that define the Asante people are understood, respected, and carried forward.

Core Values

What the institute stands for

Cultural Education

Teach Asante practice as it is lived: ritual, ceremony, art, language, and custom, in courses people can finish and use.

Leadership

Prepare nominated chiefs and elders to be capable, ethical custodians of the tradition in their care.

Community

Take the learning into the open through workshops, seminars, and cultural events for the wider public.

Research

Document oral histories, artefacts, and practice so Asante knowledge is kept accurately, and in time.

Leadership

The people carrying the work

View all team members
Dr. Thomas Agyarko-Poku, Director

Dr. Thomas Agyarko-Poku

Director

Osei-Bonsu Safo-Kantanka, Programs Manager

Osei-Bonsu Safo-Kantanka

Programs Manager

Kelvin Yesutor Dzitrie, Administrative Manager

Kelvin Yesutor Dzitrie

Administrative Manager

Dr. Albert Adusei Dua, Consultant

Dr. Albert Adusei Dua

Consultant