By Eugenia Otenwaa,
Accra, Mar. 10, GNA – The Restitution Africa Forum has been launched in Accra to promote dialogue on the return of African cultural heritage and the restoration of the continent’s identity and dignity.
The initiative seeks to broaden restitution efforts beyond the return of artefacts to include the recovery of knowledge, identity, and cultural heritage affected by colonialism.
Speaking at the launch event, Professor Kodzo Gavua, Principal Investigator and Lead Architect of the Forum, said the initiative stemmed from years of collaborative research on African cultural heritage at the University of Ghana, supported by the Open Society Foundation.
He explained that the research involved fieldwork in Ghana and neighbouring countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and Nigeria, focusing on how restitution had been implemented where cultural items had already been returned.
The event also featured the presentation of a book titled “Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah: Sankofa,” authored by Professor Kwasi Nkrumah Boadi, Researcher and Convenor of the Restitution Africa Forum.
It was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, the German Embassy, UNESCO, academics and other dignitaries.
Prof. Gavua recounted a research visit to a museum in Germany where more than 450 artefacts from Ghana, many collected by the North German Missionary Society from the Peki area, were found in storage.
“To our surprise, most of the collections were in storage. We would have to open one door, then another at least six or seven doors before gaining access,” he recalled.
Prof. Gavua said the research team also engaged chiefs, elders, shrine custodians and practitioners of African spirituality across Ghana to gather perspectives on restitution.
Workshops were later held at the Elmina Beach Resort in the Central Region and the University of Cape Coast, followed by a broader African Restitution Workshop that brought together scholars and practitioners from Togo, Cape Town, Zimbabwe and UNESCO.
“At the end, the consensus was that we should set up a forum that would continue as a platform, especially for younger people who would carry the torch after we have passed,” he said.
Prof. Gavua said colonialism, which he described as an extension of the era of enslavement, stripped Africans of political and legal authority, discouraged the use of local languages in schools and labelled African spiritual objects as fetish.
“Reparation is not only about money. It is about restoring our dignity as a people through the repair of the mental damage done to us the damage that makes us hate ourselves and abandon who we are,” he said.
He said the Forum would support government initiatives on restitution and reparations while serving as a platform for research, education and advocacy, particularly among young Africans.
Professor Pashington Obeng, Chief Executive Officer of the Pan African Heritage Museum, said restitution went beyond the physical return of cultural artefacts taken from Africa to other parts of the world.
He said it also encompassed the identities, creativity and spiritual dimensions of African peoples that were stolen, erased or suppressed during the colonial era.
Mr Edmond Moukala, speaking on behalf of UNESCO, said more than 70 per cent of ancient African cultural objects remained outside the continent and commended Ghana’s leadership in advancing restitution efforts.
“Restitution is a restoration of contexts, narratives, and relationships not solely the transfer of objects,” he said.
Prof. Boadi said his book “Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah: Sankofa” extended the concept of restitution into governance and political thought.
He said the book argued for a modernised African consensual democracy rather than a wholesale adoption of Western multi-party systems.
“The book calls on Osagyefo to lead the African revolution this time along the African path to nation-building, not the European path,” he said.
Prof. Boadi said the publication introduced readers to pre-colonial Ghana, the colonial period and contemporary efforts by Africans and the diaspora to reclaim cultural heritage.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey