The Ghana Association of Charlottesville is preparing to celebrate Ghana's Independence Day in a unique way next month.

The group met on Saturday to finalize plans for a business forum and after party in Charlottesville to honour the day Ghana gained its independence from Great Britain on March 6, 1957.

The Minister of Trade from Ghana's embassy will be the keynote speaker at the event.

“Now the world is a global village. No group of people live in isolation, no country lives in isolation,” chairman Nana Akyeampong-Ghartey said. “I want people - especially people in Charlottesville, Albemarle, and its environs - to be aware of the culture of Ghana.”

The group's chairman says he hopes Charlottesville will take advantage of its sister city relationship with Winneba, Ghana.

The business forum is set to take place on March 8 in the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library in downtown Charlottesville.