The biennial festival and conference which is aimed at bridging the gap among academic, cultural and community-based Pan-Africanists, is in honour of Dr Kwame Nkrumah's dedication to liberating Africa-centred intellectual and cultural activities.

The conference and festival, scheduled for June 25 to July 1, 2017, will feature activities such as an international symposium, a debate, a book fair, dance productions, film shows, traditional storytelling, a concert and tours.

On the theme: “Global Africa 2063: Education for reconstruction and transformation”, the festival seeks to critically investigate the role of Africa-centred education and knowledge production in shaping the development agenda.

Youth from all parts of the continent are expected to take part in the celebration.

Opportunity

Launching the festival and conference at a ceremony in Accra yesterday, a former Chairman of the Council of State, Professor Akilagpa Sawyerr, commended the institute for the initiative.

He said the festival and conference offered opportunities for the involvement of cultural artistes, academicians, community members, international and local Pan-Africanists, students and institutions seeking to be part of the process of re-energising Pan-Africanism.

He urged the planning committee members to work harder to ensure a very successful festival.

The first edition of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Intellectual and Cultural Festival held in September 2010 focused on the education of the youth in the context of the growing struggles in education in Africa.

Objectives

In her presentation on the objectives of the festival and conference, Dr Irene Appeaning Addo, the event co-coordinator, said the institute was seeking to join the conscious and deliberate efforts of the AU in realising Agenda 2063.

The African Union (AU) launched Agenda 2063, a vision and action plan, in 2013 with the vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa driven by its own resources and representing a dynamic force in the international arena”.

 The latest conference and festival, Dr Addo said, would serve as a vehicle for reflection and a springboard for new research efforts to promote Pan-Africanism and structural transformation of the continent.

“It would also reflect on the goals of the specialised committees of the AU with respect to the kind of education that must be set in motion to realise Agenda 2063,” she added.

She said the festival was also to renew efforts to reclaim Kwame Nkrumah’s original agenda, modified as required, in the light of contemporary realities.