Accra, Ghana, June 18, 2019//-Ghana’s development would not be the same without the landmark contributions of its Diaspora.
Contributions such as the discovery of crude oil by the EO Group in 2007 amongst others have backed up the fervent determination of Ghana’s, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in ensuring a full and active Diaspora participation and engagement in the various sectors of the economy.
The maiden edition of the Ghana Diaspora Celebration and Homecoming Summit (GDHS) took place in 2001 attracting over 1500 Ghanaians from the Diaspora.
This was then followed by another summit in 2017 with over 2000 Delegates in attendance. It was during the second edition that the GDHS was proposed as a biennial event and with the third edition about to take place, the President of the Republic of Ghana has charged the Diaspora Office located at the office of the President to ensure to carry it forward as a biennial event.
This year’s summit is scheduled to take place in Accra, Ghana from Wednesday 3 to Friday 5 July 2019 at the Accra International Conference Centre, under the theme ‘Recognising Diaspora Contributions Towards Nation Building’.
This will then be crowned with a Presidential Gala on Saturday 6th July 2019 at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel.
The key note speaker for the summit will be Mr Akufo-Addo. Other speakers will include key government officials and decision makers as well as key players within the private sector.
The aim of the Summit is to share with the Ghanaian Diaspora how far we have developed as a nation and the areas where Diaspora contribution in terms of investing and volunteering skill, expertise and resource can further aid Ghana’s socio-economic development, maintain its position as the leading light of West Africa and eventually Africa as a whole.
The achievements of the Diaspora towards Ghana’s development will also be celebrated.
With Ghana being “likely to have one of the world’s fastest-growing economies this year, according to the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Brookings Institution”, this year’s summit promises to be even better as it will include case studies of businesses created and effective business relationships formed during the last summit, an inclusion of the private sector in the presentations and more
focused and round table discussions. This will also be a brilliant networking opportunity.
In preparation towards the Summit in July, the UK Diaspora Steering Committee led by Bennard Owusu, have lined up 4 roadshows in various parts of the UK to create awareness about the forthcoming summit, answer any questions people may have and encourage as many people as possible to attend.
The roadshows were kick started with a media launch at the Ghana High Commission in Belgrave Square on Friday 3rd May 2019 following a global
media launch which was held in Accra on Tuesday 30th May 2019.
The key message carried in all the road shows is for the Ghanaian Diaspora to come home whether to relocate or form business partnerships from their various locations to contribute to the development of Ghana through various investments, the sharing of knowledge and skills.
The agenda for the roadshows typically includes speeches from invited guests, the sharing of experiences by a Diaspora Entrepreneur, the sharing of achievements by the Diaspora in Ghana as well as wins for the Diaspora in the UK, a presentation of the agenda for the main summit, the registration process, airline discounts and a question and answer section which is always an invigorating session.
The first roadshow was held in London at the Ghana High Commission in Highgate on Saturday, 18th May 2019 where H.E. Papa Owusu Ankomah, Ghana’s High Commissioner to UK & ROI was the keynote speaker. Amongst the special guests were Mr Akwasi Awua Ababio (Director for Diaspora Affairs, Office of the President), Mr Akwesi Agyeman (CEO of
Ghana Tourism Authority) and Mr Alex Dadey (Private Entrepreneur and Board member of GIPC).
We witnessed a massive turn out of very enthusiastic Ghanaian Diaspora and indeed quite a number of non-Ghanaian Diaspora from the Caribbean and other African countries who also showed keen interest in Ghana.
The second roadshow was held in Coventry located in the west midlands at the University of Coventry on Saturday, 1st June 2019. Once again, we witnessed a very good turnout of the Ghanaian Diaspora and their interest in contributing towards the development of Ghana was very commendable.
The keynote speaker for the Coventry roadshow was Honourable Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who charged the Diaspora to “Come, Explore and Benefit’.
The Honourable Minister, himself a Diasporan, touched on several achievements that had already happened back in Ghana, highlighted several opportunities that were still out there and also shared with the audience some realistic expectations.
Amongst the specially invited guests were H.E. Rita Tani Iddi (Deputy Ghana High Commissioner to UK & ROI), Honourable Joe Ghartey (Minister for Railways Development), Mr Richard Dombo (CEO, Ghana Railways Development) and Cllr Yvonne Mosquito (Former Lord Mayor of Birmingham).
The roadshow was then taken to the historic city of Liverpool on Saturday, 15th June 2019. The keynote speaker was Mr Kwadwo Odame Antwi (CEO, Ghana Tourism Development Company) who acted as the representative for the Honourable Minister for Tourism.
Apart from encouraging the Delegates to attend the summit, there was also some mention of
The Year of Return as Liverpool bears a lot of relevance to historic facts surrounding the basis of The Year of Return.
The occasion was graced by Cllr Peter Brennan (Lord Mayor of Liverpool) who warmly welcomed us to the city of Liverpool, Mrs Matilda Alomatu Osei-Agyeman (Head of Chancery, Ghana High Commission UK – Ag. High Commissioner) who entreated
the Ghanaian Diaspora to use their skills to contribute to Ghana’s development and also reiterated government’s commitment to the implementation of the Representation of People Amendment Act (ROPAA), Cllr Gary Miller (Deputy Mayor of Liverpool) who had nothing but praise for Ghana, Mr Garth Dallas (Chairperson for Liverpool Commonwealth
Association) who promised to attend the main summit in Ghana, Dr Jonas Appiah-Ankam (President of Merseyside Association of Ghanaians) and Ms Jasmine Griffiths (Head of Diaspora Affairs, British High Commission, Ghana).
Our next and final stop is Glasgow in Scotland on Saturday, 22nd June 2019. The keynote speaker will be H.E. Papa Owusu- Ankomah (Ghana High Commissioner to UK & ROI) and the special guests are Dr Charles Aryiku (Ghana’s Honourary Consul-General to Scotland), Mr Akwasi Awua Ababio (Director for Diaspora Affairs, Office of the President), Mr Baille Malcom Balfour (Deputy Provost of Glasgow) and Mr Emmanuel Opoku (Deputy CEO of
COCOBOD).
When all is said and done here in the UK and in the other countries hosting various roadshows, we sincerely hope you have as many as possible on board to ultimately get involved in raising high the flag of Ghana and placing Ghana amongst the elite nations of the world.
