Ghana, through the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in partnership with the FESTAC AFRICA Renaissance Festival, is hosting the FESTAC AFRICA Festival 2025 at the Black Star Square in Accra to showcase African cultural heritage, trade, and diplomacy.
The week-long festival, which opened on September 21 and runs until September 27, is a pan-African movement of cultural reclamation that honours ancestral wisdom, promotes economic empowerment, and fosters African trade. The event features a rich lineup of activities designed to reconnect participants with their roots while creating value through creativity and commerce.
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A highlight of the festival is the African movie screenings, offering stories told from authentic African perspectives. Selected films include “A Kiss Too Late” by FHAD Films, alongside “For IKEMEFUNA,” “Never Mine,” and “Clout.”
Mr Yinka Abioye, Chairman of the FESTAC AFRICA Festival, described the event as a revival of a dream that unites the continent and the diaspora. “Africa’s culture must be the foundation, trade must be the engine, and unity must be our destination. Our culture is our compass and currency… Ghana, with its unmatched heritage and unity, is the rightful podium for this renaissance,” he said.
Mr Carl Ampah, Cultural Programme Officer at UNESCO, emphasised that Africa’s creative renaissance is inseparable from its social transformation. He noted that by placing culture at the heart of trade, diplomacy, gender equality, climate action, and sustainable tourism, the festival advances both the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN‘s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“Let us use this Festival to celebrate what has been done and to renew our commitment that Africa’s voice is heard, her heritage respected and her future shaped by her own hands, traditions, languages and dreams,” Mr Ampah urged.
Representing Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD, Madam Nyiko Khoza, Programme Lead for Africa Creatives, Sports and Recreation, stressed that FESTAC must prioritise Africa’s youth, who will make up more than 42% of the world’s young people by 2030.
“This is where culture and creativity meet industrialisation,” she said. “Every Kente cloth woven here in Ghana, every Chitenge in Zambia, every cotton field in Mali and every bead or sculpture across our continent are not just cultural treasures—they are economic drivers. They are the raw materials of value chains, industries and markets that can employ millions and position Africa as a global player.”
The FESTAC AFRICA Festival 2025 is being hailed as more than just a cultural celebration—it is a platform to revive Pan-Africanism, spark bold dreams, and anchor Africa’s future in the power of its people, heritage, and creativity.
