Accra, Ghana \u2013 July 2025 \u2014 The Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts, Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called for a bold reclamation of African identity and renewed cultural consciousness during the 2025 PANAFEST and Emancipation wreath-laying ceremony held at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park.
\nIn her keynote address, Hon. Gomashie urged Africans and the diaspora to transform remembrance into unity and action. \u201cWe don\u2019t celebrate emancipation because it\u2019s a ritual,\u201d she declared. \u201cWe do so to feel the pain of separation; and to fight for what is ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referencing Pan-African icons such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, she challenged attendees to assess whether today\u2019s Africans are truly living out the ideals of these forebears. She criticized the lingering impact of colonialism and internalized cultural shame, stating, \u201cWhen you look down on your culture, your food, your religion, you have chosen the other over yourself.\u201d
\nShe also announced the launch of the AfroGhastro Culinary Festival, scheduled for September 15, under the Black Star Experience initiative. The festival will spotlight African cuisine as a tool for cultural diplomacy. \u201cFood is a bridge,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen it tastes right, love flows naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her speech concluded with a powerful personal pledge to champion African identity. \u201cI pledge to speak up, to stand out, and to defend my Africanness, anywhere, everywhere, and every day.\u201d
\nThe ceremony featured additional calls to action. Dr. Collins Rawlings Nunyonameh, Executive Director of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, warned that Africa\u2019s flame of liberation must not be allowed to dim. \u201cWe must not rest until Africa is completely free,\u201d he asserted.
\nMaame Efua Houadjeto, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, reinforced PANAFEST\u2019s deeper mission beyond symbolism. \u201cThis is a summons to reconnect with our roots and reaffirm our responsibility to Africa\u2019s past and future,\u201d she said.
\nHighlighting global cultural ties, Brazil\u2019s Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Mariana Goncalves Madeira, applauded the activism of Afro-Brazilians and stressed the value of cross-cultural collaboration in heritage protection.
\nThe event was rounded out by performances from traditional Ghanaian artist from the National Theatre, the Ghana Dance Ensemble and others, including a moving piece by Barbados\u2019 Poet Laureate, Esther Phillips, enriching the ceremony\u2019s atmosphere with Culture, arts and reflections.
\nSource: Public Relations Unit -MoTCCA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Accra, Ghana \u2013 July 2025 \u2014 The Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts, Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called for a bold reclamation of African identity and renewed cultural consciousness during the 2025 PANAFEST and Emancipation wreath-laying ceremony held at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. In her keynote address, Hon. Gomashie urged Africans and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-updates","category-1","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6412,"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions\/6412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motcca.gov.gh\/motcca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}