Panafest 2001 Launched

This year's Pan African Arts Festival (PANAFEST) and Emancipation Day celebrations have been tagged to be even bigger than the 1999 edition, which was adjudged a grand success.

The two events, which have been synchronized for the first time into a single event, will be celebrated under the theme, "The Re-emergence of African Civilization" and a sub theme "Uniting the African Family: Bridging the Gap through Information Technology".

The one-week broad-based cultural event aimed at enhancing ideals of Pan Africanism and developing the African continent will begin on July 27, 2001.

Launching the joint event at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, His Excellency the Vice President of Ghana, Alhaji Aliu Mahama emphasized on the importance Government attaches to PANAFEST and Emancipation Day.

He said the celebration is a sort of Home Coming and an occasion to revel in the freedom of emancipation and at the same time bring out the rich Ghanaian and African culture as a whole for the entire world to see. He added that a people with no culture are doomed to extinction.

Mr. Kojo Yankah, chairman of the International Board of Panafest in his address, confidently said, PANAFEST is still the biggest international cultural festival on the continent.

He thus emphasized the need for the host nation and its people to exhibit a greater commitment beyond seeing figures and statistics.

Mr. Yankah said government should commit itself to tourism by investing in infrastructural links to tourism sites, improving on telecommunications, roads and educating the people adequately on the positive and negative impact of tourism.

Participants from the USA, Caribbean, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, South Africa and other African States are billed to partake in the festival. Beginning the celebrations with pre-PANAFEST events, participants will go on a flight to Paga to visit the site of the genesis of slave trade in the Gold Coast.

They will also visit Salaga (Slave Trade Market), then to Kintampo through Kumasi to pay a courtesy call on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

The programme will be held concurrently in the Greater Accra and Central Regions.

Highlights would include a Memorial and Remembrance Day, Akwaaba Jam and Technology Forum.

The Tourism Minister, Hon. Hawa Yakubu who was also present at the launch, said events like this create business opportunities for our local people and the business community at large.