80,000 tourists to participate in Ghana cultural oneness festival

At least about 80,000 participants from all over the world, including Nigerians, are expected to grace a four-day Cultural Oneness Festival scheduled to hold in Ghana between November 13 and 16, 2024.

With the theme “Leveraging on Our Strength for Shared Growth and Prosperity as One People,”  the festival, according to the organisers, will cover art, culture, heritage, and business and will also showcase cultural exhibitions, cultural root tours, cultural fusion durbar/street carnivals, business forums, and musical concerts, among others.

Co-founders of Taste of Afrika and organisers of the Cultural Oneness Festival, Tengol Kplemani and Martins Chris Glin, while addressing the media through Zoom from their bases in Ghana and the United States, respectively, said the event will emphasise the need to promote and foster African unity and diversity through cultural exchange and continental visibility for economic empowerment.

“The festival will serve as a platform for various traditional rulers, kingdoms, and leaders from across the continent to come together, share their rich cultural heritage, and collaborate on ways to advance their communities,” Kplemani said.

According to Glin, “This event will also improve our relationship with Ghana even more. It will help us understand ourselves better.”

The Festival’s Country Director, Nigeria, Ambassador Kazeem Balogun, said government and individual’ participation will go a long way in creating more synergy and further sustaining existing diplomatic, economic, and social relations between Nigeria and Ghana.

He added that the festival is aimed at fostering cultural ties among Africans on the continent as well as those in the diaspora, as well as positioning Ghana as a leading destination for African Americans seeking to reconnect with their roots.

Balogun called on Nigerian authorities to tap maximally into the tourism industry, as done in Ghana, to generate more revenue for the country.

“The event is expected to attract 80,000 participants, online and offline, and will offer a platform for cultural exchange, business networking, and the promotion of African arts. The event will also feature a Nigeria-Ghana tourism roundtable and improve our culture, art, and creativity through advocacy,” he said.

Also in her remarks, the festival’s assistant director, Ambassador Peace Onuiri, while corroborating Balogun’s submission, said Nigeria has a lot to gain in terms of employment and the improvement of livelihood.

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