The PAT is a platform of Africans and friends of Africa operating from Johannesburg in South Africa and supporting campaigns for Pan-Africanism. Its mission is to strengthen networking amongst the various African organisations struggling to demand socio economic rights, especially those that have already come to the realisation that continental unity and socialism are necessary conditions for the victory of their struggles.

The initial PAT Conference was held in Lusaka, Zambia in 2016, while the 2017 edition was held in Borj Cedria, Tunisia. The Winneba Conference, which would be hosted by the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG), is under the auspices of the National Union of Metal Works of South Africa (NUMSA), the Workers Party (Tunisia), the Democratic Way (Morocco) and the Socialist Party (Zambia).

Speaking at the launch in Accra on Monday, Mr Cosmas Musumali of the Political Directorate of the PAT Secretariat, and the General Secretary of the Socialist Party in Zambia, said PAT was committed to achieving the political, economic, intellectual and cultural unification of the African continent and its diaspora.

He noted that their choice of Ghana for the 2018 PAT Conference was to enable the Pan-African Movement pay befitting tribute to Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the founder of Ghana and chief Strategist of African liberation and African unity. Mr Musumali said neither socialism nor Pan-Africanism could triumph without the active, purposeful involvement of all social forces at the appropriate levels.

"More importantly, we cannot sustain whatever gains we make unless we continually spread consciousness across the social movement and build Pan-African institutions that are directly accountable to the people and not just to the various neo-colonial governments, " he said.

"PAT is thus about facilitating Pan-African consciousness, supporting Pan-African mobilisation." Mr Musumali said defeating capitalism was the only way to create a just, secure and prosperous world for posterity.

Mr Kyeretwie Opoku, Chair of the 2018 PAT Conference, Local Committee, said there was the need to embed Pan-Africanism into the youth, in order to safe guard it for posterity. Dignitaries at the launch include Mr Kwesi Pratt Jr, the Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper; Mr Bernard Mornah, Chairman of the People's National Convention (PNC); Mr Kambale Musavuli, a Member of the PAT Secretariat, Friends of the Congo; and members of the diplomatic community in Ghana.