PANAFEST, Emancipation 2025 launched
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has launched the Pan African Festival of Arts, Culture (PANAFEST) and Emancipation 2025, which features a diverse range of activities designed to foster unity and a shared heritage among participants.
The two-week long celebration which would start from July 17 to August 2, 2025, would begin with a pilgrimage to slave sites in Pikworo, Salaga, Paga,Tamale and Bono Manso - Assin Praso from July 17 to July 22, 2025.
The event is being organised by GTA, in collaboration with the PANAFEST Foundation and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, on the theme: “Let us speak of reparative Justice - Pan African artistic activism.”
Activities
On July 17, 2025, there would be a Salaga atonement ceremony, followed by a courtesy call on the Gulkpe-Naa in Tamale, where there would also be evening lectures the next day, July 18.
A durbar would be held at Pikworo on July 19, 2025, followed by a return journey to Bono Manso the next day, July 20.
There would be a courtesy call on chiefs and elders at Assin Manso on July 21, while on July 22, a Brazil Food Fair would be organised at the Brazilian Embassy.
On July 23, wreath-laying ceremonies would be held at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the George Padmore Library and the W.E.B DuBois Centre, all in Accra.
There would be a Mini Panafest African Market at the Memorial Park, as well as a creative explosion concert at the National Theater.
On July 24, there would be Assin Praso crossing ceremonies, and a symbolic boat ride from the “Door of No Return” on July 25.
The opening of Expo and Art Activation, and a conscious music and film festival dubbed "By the FireSide Chat", would be held in Cape Coast on the same day.
On July 26, 2025, there would be a wellness session, a concert , a grand durbar and an address by President John Mahama.
Interfaith dialogue
Also, there would be an African Spirituality and Interfaith Dialogue, and an evening of sacred music and dance in Cape Coast on July 27, 2025.
A colloquium, performances, speeches and panel discussions would be held at the University of Cape Coast on July 28, while artists workshops, film night and evening performances would be held on July 29, on the expo grounds.
A Pan African Food Fair and Artistes workshops would be held on July 30.
The highlight of the celebration would be the reverential night, beginning with a candlelight procession, sacred dungeon rites, songs, poetry, inspirational speeches and re-enactments at Mfantsipim Junction to Cape Coast dungeons on July 31, 2025.
The celebration would be climaxed with the Emancipation Day on August 1,2025, followed by festival finale and a carnival parade on Cape Coast streets and other venues.
And on August 2, the celebration would officially close with a Gala.
Ms Gomashie called for the active involvement of the youth in all the activities to create awareness of the country’s history.
She said PANAFEST was significant in promoting Pan-African unity , healing and cultural connections.
The Chairperson of PANAFEST Foundation, Professor Esi Sutherland-Addy, said emancipation was a process and not only an event, with each commemoration inspiring contemporary Africans to take the next steps towards true emancipation.
She mentioned the symbolic loss of the nation’s heritage due to looted artifacts and the difficulty in retrieving them.
Ms Sutherland-Addy called on Africans to stand up and reclaim their worth and contributions to the world.
The Chief Executive Officer of GTA, Maame Efua Houadjeto, said the festival emphasised the role of culture, heritage and tourism in national transformation, and therefore, urged the media to amplify the celebration.
