Mega concert, exhibition to celebrate Year of People of African Descent

The Ministry of Culture has announced that a mega concert and exhibition will be held on Saturday to commemorate the United Nations’ International Year of People of African Descent (IYPAD).

According to the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA), the concert and exhibition would be held at the National Stadium, at Provi-dence, under the theme ‘Sankofa’ and will feature international acts from Ghana and Suriname. Sankofa, GINA noted, is a Ghanaian word meaning to “go back and take.”

Administrator, Museum of African Heritage and Coordinator of the Exhibition, Jenny Daly told GINA that the event, as the word Sankofa suggests, will be a celebration of the past, as well the recognition of the future.

Natural Black

“In order to go further, we must look back at our past,” she is quoted as saying. She added that the event will depict the struggles of the past as well as the way forward.

The event will begin with an exhibition on the lawns of the stadium.
African traditional groups from each of the 10 administrative regions will come together and create their own village tent, in which they will put on show the unique cultural heritage of each region with regard to art, craft, clothing and food. Each village will also feature their individual music performance, Daly also said.

Meanwhile, coordinator of the concert, Sean Bhola told GINA that the concert will start at 8 pm and will feature participation from international acts from Ghana and Suriname as well as performances from local artistes. Among the local artistes billed to perform are Natural Black, the Yoruba Singers, Charmaine Blackman, and the X Factor dance group.
Admission will be free