By Hafsa Obeng, GNA
Accra, July 24, GNA – Mr Caleb Cofie, Executive Director of the Service Excellence Foundation-Ghana, has called for PANAFEST and Emancipation Day celebrations to be redesigned to encourage wider participation by Ghanaians.
He said broadening public participation would make the celebrations more relevant to national development while preserving their historical and cultural significance.
Mr. Cofie made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Wednesday.
He said although PANAFEST and Emancipation Day remained important platforms for commemorating the transatlantic slave trade, celebrating African resilience, reconnecting the African diaspora with the continent and reinforcing Ghana’s identity as the Gateway to Africa, many citizens felt excluded from the activities.
“These objectives are still relevant today; however, many ordinary Ghanaians feel disconnected from the celebrations,” he said.
Mr Cofie said most people experienced the commemorations through television, radio and social media rather than by participating directl.
He said that traders, students, teachers, commercial drivers, farmers, hospitality workers and young entrepreneurs often found it difficult to relate the festivals to their everyday lives.
Mr Cofie said many young people were instead drawn to events such as the Chale Wote Street Art Festival, Detty December, football competitions and music festivals because they combined entertainment, participation and economic opportunities.
“PANAFEST, on the other hand, is sometimes viewed as ceremonial and historical rather than engaging and contemporary,” he said.
Mr Cofie called for more community-based activities, youth-centred programmes and greater opportunities for schools, cultural groups and local businesses to participate actively in the celebrations.
He said such an approach would transform PANAFEST and Emancipation Day from events observed by a few into national experiences embraced by many.
“The country should rethink the celebrations, not by abandoning them, but by redesigning how they were communicated, organised and experienced by the public,” he said.
Mr Cofie said repositioning the celebrations as inclusive platforms for cultural engagement and national development would strengthen their relevance to contemporary Ghana and safeguard their historical purpose.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Hafsa Obeng