The Embassy of Denmark in Ghana and Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts have entered into a new partnership to preserve cultural heritage sites in Osu, Accra, highlighting the shared historical ties between Ghana and Denmark. A letter of intent to this end was signed in the margins of the high-level Consultative Conference on the Next Steps to the Landmark United Nations Resolution on the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans in Accra from 17–19 June.
The collaboration will be initiated with a GHC 1,7 M project by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, the University of Ghana and the National Museum of Denmark to document and raise public awareness of the intertwined histories that is manifested in historical sites around the Osu Castle, formerly bearing the Danish name of ‘Christiansborg fort’.
Through digitalization and installation of landmark plaques at currently unmarked heritage sites connected to the shared Ghanaian-Danish, the project will make historical traces more visible and accessible, in order to foster greater understanding of a dark chapter of history.
Commenting after the signing of the letter of intent for this significant partnership, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Honourable Abla Dzifa Gomashie, indicated that “Preserving our heritage sites and documenting the historical traces they hold is essential to safeguarding Ghana’s ancestral knowledge and historical consciousness for generations to come. This partnership with the Kingdom of Denmark reinforces our collective commitment to preserving cultural memory while empowering future generations with the knowledge, identity, and inspiration that our heritage provides.”
At the conference Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon. Lars Løkke Rasmussen declared that “The history of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade is one of the darkest chapters in world history. And it is also a disgraceful and unforgiveable part of Denmark’s past. We cannot change what happened. But we can learn from it”. He continued to state that Denmark would therefore be honoured to support Ghana in its plan to create a museum and a memorial at the castle as a place of memory and learning from the past for future generations.
Building on this announcement, The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning a new commitment of up to GHC 17 M to support Ghana in developing the cultural heritage site in and around Osu Castle.
