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General News of Saturday, July 20, 2019
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2019-07-20
Ms. Esi Sutherland Addy delivers her speech
The government has put in place measures to resolve the problems of obtaining visas that often affect the celebration of the Pan-African Biennial History Festival (PANAFEST) and the programs marking the Year of Return 2019, under the presidency of Mr. Kwasi Agyeman, director of the Ghana Tourism Board said.
These measures include reducing visa fees for diaspora nationals from countries whose citizens require a visa to enter Ghana, to reform the cumbersome visa application procedures and to reduce visa fees from $ 150 to $ 75. to apply for a visa waiver in some Caribbean countries such as Jamaica and Guyana. .
At the press conference held in Accra yesterday as part of the activities planned for the Year of Return, he clarified that the program secretariat was also working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that it leave behind an electronic visa system of Return Legacy, an initiative aimed at eliminating the barriers and difficulties of diasporans in the acquisition of visas, should be completed by the end of the year.
Mr. Agyeman admitted, however, that had certain milestones been achieved, including visa waivers, there were still bureaucratic bottlenecks in its implementation.
"Some airlines still refuse pbadengers on board unless they see documents from Accra," he added.
annual general meeting
Activities were also organized for the PANAFEST celebrations and this year's Emancipation Day as part of the Year of Return.
Advantages
Professor Esi Sutherland-Addy, president of the PANAFEST Foundation, said that besides the sense of identity for which the diasporans appreciated PANAFEST, it also allowed them to reconnect with their cultural heritage.
Taking advantage of many castles, forts and other footprints of colonialism and slavery in the Central Region, Professor Sutherland-Addy said that one of the many achievements of PANAFEST was also the focus of the region in as a tourism hub.
She said that the establishment of hotels, the organization of activities at the Cape Coast National Cultural Center, including the trade of artifacts and biological products, were all advantages tangibles of PANAFEST in the region.
Program
The programs scheduled for the year of the return year celebration include an opportunity for participants to relive the experiences of their ancestors who have gone through the horrific ordeal of slavery at Cape Coast by the gate of no return and met at Elmina Castle on July 26, 2019.
She added that buses would be provided to transport people from Accra to Cape Coast, Elmina, Assin Manso and Assin Praso; communities that would play a key role in the celebrations for free.
The event begins on July 20, 2019 with the crossing of the Prah, a durbar in Assin Praso and an expiation of the pilgrimage on the pre-slave road that ends on August 2, 2019.
Other highlights include a wreath-laying ceremony paying tribute to pan-Africanism pioneers at the W.E.B Dubois Center, the George Padmore Memorial Library, and the Nkrumah Mausoleum, all in Accra on July 24, 2019; the opening of One Africa Walls of Remembrance at One Africa Health Resort in Elmina; An international variety night at Cape Coast Stadium on July 27 and an interfaith dialogue at Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
There will also be a symposium for people of African descent and repair at the University of Cape Coast on July 29, which will be followed by a Women's Day on July 30 and musical performances on August 3, 2019.
PANAFEST
The late Efua Sutherland Addy, in the mid-1980s, referred to PANAFEST as a cultural vehicle for bringing Africans together on the continent and in the diaspora in Ghana.
It has attracted customers from around the world, especially the Diaspora, over the past 25 years. Some participants see it as a mission to rediscover their roots and their identity.
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For more information, visit: www.graphic.com.gh |
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