By: Joshua Nii Appiah
As part of efforts towards deepening the relations between Africans in the diaspora and those on the continent, the Rediscover Africa Festival has been launched in Accra to champion the agenda. The festival which is scheduled to take place from 23rd to 25th May, 2025 in New Jersey will coincide with the Africa Union Day.
The Chief Executive Officer, CEO, and founder of Rediscover Africa, Anita Barakat said the festival aims to bridge the gap between Africans in the diaspora including those in the Caribbean and Africans living on the continent to explore and project the African cultures and values.
“We have realised that for native Africans, after certain number of years, we tend to lose or drift away from our cultures and so this festival will offer the opportunity for us to reconnect back to the motherland”, she said.
The 2025 Rediscover Africa Festival also seeks to enhance trade missions and businesses among native Africans, African Americans and those from the Caribbean.
“This festival will open doors for cross-border businesses where Africans, not only from Ghana who have the interest of coming to America to meet business partners and vice versa can bring American businesses home to establish trade”, Mrs. Barakat explained.
There will also be an award ceremony dubbed; African Night Out Gala and Awards Ceremony, during the three-day Rediscover Africa Festival in New Jersey in May.
“There will also be an award ceremony which focuses on awarding Africans and those from the Caribbean who have excelled and have impacted the communities in diverse ways”, She revealed.
On sustainability of the festival, Mrs. Barakat said “Africans in America are yearning and crying for more and so we’ve been engaging with some state offices and communities since 2021 who will help us do this festival annually”.
The Presidential Advisor for Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko was at the W.E.B Dubois Centre in Accra to officially launch the 2025 Rediscover Africa Festival.
He pledged government’s support and efforts in deepening the relations between Africans in the diaspora and Ghana.
“One of the mandates of my office is to make sure that there is a seamless relationship between the Office of the President and Diasporans out there and people of African descent or people who are connected to the motherland historically. This is an opportunity for us to reach out to them; not just the elderly but the second and third generation people in the diaspora. We want to be very intentional to make sure that they know what is happening in Ghana”, he said.
Mr. Okyere Darko continued, “Beyond people coming back to visit we are also very intentional about people coming back home to invest and so whenever I have the opportunity I try to educate them and tell them why they have to come home and invest in the various sectors of the economy”.
The 2025 Rediscover Africa Festival is expected to bring together Africans from all walks of life including those from Liberia, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Jamaica and African Americans.
