Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, formally launched the 2025 edition of PANAFEST and Emancipation Day on Monday, presenting this year’s festival as a cultural and political platform for reparative justice and renewed engagement with the African diaspora.
Held at the Tourism Information Centre in Accra, the launch introduced the theme “Let Us Speak of Reparative Justice: Artistic Activism” and unveiled the Black Star Experience, a heritage tourism campaign aimed at positioning Ghana as a global center for African cultural renaissance.
“PANAFEST is more than a festival—it is a movement,” Gomashie said, describing the event as a space for healing, historical reckoning, and youth empowerment. “It is spiritual, cultural and intellectual—reconnecting Africa with its global descendants in search of purpose and dignity.”
The 2025 PANAFEST will run over two weeks, with events scheduled across key historical locations including Tamale, Salaga, Cape Coast, Bono Manso, and Assin Manso—many of which were central in the transatlantic slave trade. Activities will include heritage site tours, commemorative rituals, diaspora dialogues, youth forums, academic symposia, and a cultural marketplace. A flagship Creative Explosion Concert will spotlight African artistic expression.
This year’s festival comes amid heightened global debate around racial equity, reparations, and African identity. Ghana, which has branded itself as a “spiritual homeland” for the African diaspora, is using the festival to advance conversations on historical redress and cultural restoration.
Keynote speakers at the launch—academics Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy and Prof. Kwesi Yankah—called for concrete reparations and a re-centering of African narratives within education and historical memory.
Organizers say a stronger focus will be placed on public education and community engagement, as the country deepens its bid to become a leading heritage destination and a voice in global reparative discourse.
Source:TheDotNews