The Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has asked Africans to resist any oppression from any quarters and take their rightful place in order to progress.
She was speaking at the launch of the 17th edition of the Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival (PANAFEST) and Emancipation celebration at Cape Coast in the Central Region on July 26, 2025.
“We believe history must be remembered. Beyond that, we must reckon with history that history must teach us but history will teach us when we do the hard work of telling our own story. Regardless, where we are coming from we have a story of suffering but also a story of resistance, we fought back and I want us to be proud of that effort and to ensure that we continue to resist oppressions from wherever it’s coming from.
“We ought to live like other people also live, find our levels of confidence, see ourselves in the future and not to be afraid,” she said.
Over 500 years ago, some Africans including Ghanaians went through atrocities, pain and slavery.
The celebration of PANAFEST and Emancipation is therefore not to only commemorate it but as a transformative moments that honour the resilience of the African spirit, remember the painful legacies of slavery and rekindle the unity of the global African family.
The Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang who officially opened the celebration also stressed the need to invest in the youth.
“When it comes to our continent one huge advantage is with our youth. We need to invest in them and we need to have youth centered policies and this is what this government that I’m proud to be part of is trying to do.”
The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Abla Dzifa Gomashie emphasized the need to use the celebration to restore dignity of the African people.
“Our agenda is clear, to make cultural heritage the anchor of national identity and tourism development.”
The Oguaamanhene, Osabarima Kwesi Atta the second reaffirmed the Oguaa Traditional Council’s commitment to work with government and others to make the repatriation meaningful.
“The scars of the past must now shape the vision of our future. To our brothers and sisters from the diaspora, this is your home, your roots are here, your place in our future is not optional, it is essential. To government and our development partners if Africa is to rise, it must rise from its cultural capital, let us invest in our identity, our history and our people,” he said.
PANAFEST, first held in 1992, is a biennial cultural event designed to promote and enhance the ideals of Pan-Africanism and African development.
It typically features a rich tapestry of theatre, drama, music, dance, poetry, and traditional rites, drawing participants from across Africa and the diaspora.
Emancipation Day, observed on August 1st, commemorates the abolition of slavery and serves as a significant moment for reflection on the legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the resilience of African people.
