Governance

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

On behalf of the International Board of Trustees of the PANAFEST Foundation, I bid you a warm welcome.

PANAFEST- The Pan African Festival of Arts and Culture originated as The Pan African Historical Theatre Festival. It is a landmark biennial festival which is celebrated in the spirit of “Re-Uniting the African Family: Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance.” Celebrated since 1992, the festival addresses the most traumatic interruption that ever occurred in the natural evolution of African societies which among other traumas, profoundly eroded the self- confidence and freedom for self- determination of a whole people. The festival consciously makes the most prominent European edifices, through which the slave trade was conducted, as sites around which activities aimed at confronting the effects of enslavement are undertaken. These activities are aimed at purging the pain of Diaspora, acknowledging the residual effects of the trade on the Continent and re-uniting to forge a positive future in the contemporary global environment. Alongside the healing processes, PANAFEST celebrates the strengths and resilience of African culture and achievements of Africans. It is designed to help Africans to reconnect with their strengths.

PANAFEST is structured around experiences and platforms which are designed to constructively raise and examine important if contentious issues, foster healing processes and also celebrate the strengths of African culture and achievements of Africans. We define Africans as inclusive of all African Descendants World-Wide. Most importantly, PANAFEST is to be seen as a home and hub for creative Africans across the globe to both show case their work and interact with each other in a meaningful way as this is often very difficult to achieve otherwise.

Heritage revival ,the acknowledgement of self must address the many silences, erasures of the African story from the global narrative, and the huge intergenerational gaps in transmission. We are honoured to offer PANAFEST as a hub where African thinkers, creatives and innovators will fearlessly confront our contradictions and courageously set out to build back our societies and institutions across continents. Equally importantly, PANAFEST is offered as a home base for creatives and thinkers to share and impact each other with their work and skills in love, strength and security symbolised by the Adinkra symbol Eban-The Fence. [click for more]

CHAIRPERSON

PROFESSOR ESI SUTHERLAND-ADDY

Scholar. Pan Africanist Humanitarian Activist and former Deputy Minister

As always, first and foremost giving all honor, praise and glory to the Mos High Power of the Universe, the Source by whom we live, move and have our being. Also paying respect and tribute to the spirit of our Ancestors upon whose legacy we stand. I greet everyone with our traditional salutation of AKWAABA.

Once again the cycle and season of PANAFEST is returning and needless to say I am excited with anticipation of the 15^th edition of PANAFEST 2023 and the empowerment of the achievements which have been accomplished throughout the three decades of the PANAFEST movement.

Each edition of PANAFEST has been accompanied by a festival theme but this has not been at the expense of replacing our motto or recurring theme of “Re-Uniting the African Family” which has been with us from the beginning. This year’s festival theme, “Reclaiming The African Family”, referring specifically to reaffirming our African identity throughout the global African communities. Whether in the North, Central, South or Islands of the Americas, Europe, or Asia the over 350 million Africans who were displaced throughout the world have a destiny intertwined with the 1.3 billion Africans on the continent.

Too often the redefining and labeling of populations of African people in foreign territories by their national identities has brought into question the retention of their African-ness but now more than ever, there is a rebirth of pride by people of African descent to claim their identity with pride and admiration as well as an effort for Africa to claim her scattered sons and daughters as witnessed by the African Union’s proclamation of the African Diaspora as the “6^th Region”.

Ghana has commanded the lead in this endevour by initiating the PANAFEST in 1992, Emancipation in 1998, The Joseph Project in 2007, and proclaiming the Year of Return in 2019 and beyond The Return from 2020-2030.

PANAFEST remains the most consistent Pan African Festival representing the continuity of all these visions and initiatives to reunite the African family.

This has also inspired African nations to commit to developing “Diaspora Engagement Policies”... [click for more]

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY