The Steering Committee of the Year of Return, Ghana 2019 has outdoored activities of events commemorating the year-long celebration.
The “Year of Return, Ghana 2019” is a major landmark spiritual and birth-right journey inviting the Global African family, home and abroad, to mark 400 years of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia. It marked a sordid and sad period, when our kith and kin were forcefully taken away into years of deprivation, humiliation and torture.
Ghana’s leadership in Africa’s quest to be free united, politically and to be economically independent is well recognised. Ghana is unique and poised as a “Gate of Return” to our compatriots in the Diaspora. With the presence of a huge human capital in the Diaspora, government is committed to roll out policies to foster deeper relationship and reintegration with our compatriots to foster development. In November last year, the committee called for submissions of event proposals.
More than 30 events have been approved and endorsed so far by the committee to be held. But at the Press Briefing to introduce the events, Coordinator of the Year of Return, Akwasi Agyeman said the committee was still open for more event ideas since the celebration is to give “people reason to be in Ghana each day of the year.” One of the main goals of “Year of Return, 2019” is to position Ghana as a key destination for African Americans and the Diaspora.
There is huge opportunity to promote Ghana, Africa and Africa-American cultural insights, entrepreneurship, scientific exploits and leadership through the year-long activities to celebrate and commemorate the “Year of Return” Part of the strategies of the committee is to aggressively market and promote the events to citizens and Africans in the diaspora .
The Year of Return, Ghana 2019 is envisaged to be a major boost for Ghana’s tourism with over 350,000 visitors expected from North America alone.
Activities for the Year of Return include; This is New Africa (T.I.N.A), African Culture and Wellness Festival, Back2Africa Festival, The Pan African Student Summit, Ghana Jamaican Homecoming Festival, Black Prophet Homecoming Celebration and National Pan-Hellenic Council Republic Week Reunion. The full calendar of events can accessed at www.yearofreturn.com
The “Year of Return, Ghana 2019” which is being coordinated by the Ghana Tourism Authority (G.T.A.) in partnership with the Office of Diaspora Affairs (Office of the President), the Panafest Foundation and the Adinkra group is under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Story by: Samuel Obeng Appah
