From 19–20 December, Accra once again became a global meeting point for the African world as Ghana hosted the Diaspora Summit, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Diaspora Affairs Office, and the Office of the President.
The event saw the active participation of organizations like the Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF), whose members were highly visible in their orange t-shirts emblazoned with calls for reparatory justice.
Held under the theme “Resetting Ghana: The Diaspora as the 17th Region,” the two-day summit brought together diaspora leaders, policymakers, academics, entrepreneurs, activists, and cultural practitioners from Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, Europe, and beyond. The gathering reflected Ghana’s continued commitment to positioning itself as a political, cultural, and diplomatic bridge between the continent and its global diaspora.
The summit was conceived as more than a ceremonial homecoming. It was framed as a strategic platform to redefine how Ghana and Africa engage their diaspora, moving away from symbolic inclusion toward structured participation in national development, policy advocacy, and continental transformation.
Speakers emphasised that the diaspora must be recognized not only as contributors through investments or remittances, but as co-architects of Africa’s economic, political, and cultural future.
Opening the summit, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa underscored the urgency of reparative justice as a central pillar of Africa–diaspora relations. He stressed that historical wrongs such as slavery, colonialism, and neo-colonial exploitation demand more than acknowledgment; they require coordinated diplomatic, legal, and economic responses. Reparations, he noted, are inseparable from Africa’s quest for sovereignty, dignity, and self-determined development.
“Today’s event is more than a gathering. It is more than a homecoming. It is a reunion; a reconnection of destinies. Our presence here today, each and every one of us, is an answer to a desperate prayer of an ancestor. A prayer spoken in the compounds and villages where those who have been stolen once lived and were loved.”
In a significant affirmation reinforcing the summit’s message of unity, during the ceremony, the Government of Ghana announced visa-free entry to registered participants, lowering barriers to participation and signaling a political commitment to reconnecting Africa with its diaspora. This move was widely applauded as both a practical and symbolic step toward realizing the idea of the diaspora as an integral part of the African family rather than external observers.
Throughout the two days, panel discussions and breakout sessions explored key themes including reparations, diaspora investment, skills transfer, cultural reconnection, technology, youth engagement, and political advocacy. Intellectual contributions from scholars such as Kwesi Pratt Jnr, a member of the Pan-African Progressive Front Committee, and attorney Benjamin Lloyd Crump, highlighted the importance of grounding diaspora engagement in African-centered knowledge systems and historical consciousness, rather than externally defined development models.
Reparations emerged as a unifying thread across discussions.
Speakers consistently linked diaspora engagement to the broader global struggle for reparative justice, emphasizing that Africa and its diaspora must act collectively to confront historical and ongoing economic harms.
“The road is in front of us and there is so much to do. One thing we should not accept is the position of beggars, begging for our dignity. Nobody will give us our dignity and we will not beg for our dignity. We demand our dignity as our right and we will take it as citizens of this world without apologizing to anybody,” said Kwesi Pratt Jnr, emphasising the urgent need for reparations.
One of the organizations that was particularly prominent at the summit was the Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF). Members of the PPF team and its leadership actively participated and engaged with members of the diaspora present, exchanging ideas, building connections, and strengthening solidarity across borders. The Front also seized the opportunity to produce a new video intervention, intentionally linking the core principles of the Accra Declaration to the themes and discussions of the gathering, further situating reparations, African unity, and people-centered justice at the heart of the Africa–diaspora conversation.
These conversations echoed wider Pan-African demands for debt cancellation, the return of stolen artifacts, and economic restructuring as partial but necessary steps toward justice.
The summit also recognized outstanding contributions by diaspora figures to Ghana’s development and Pan-African solidarity. Business leaders and cultural advocates were honored, reinforcing the idea that diaspora engagement is multidimensional, spanning economics, culture, politics, and social transformation.
Addressing participants, President John Dramani Mahama, in his capacity as the African Union’s Champion for Reparations and Racial Justice, situated the summit within a longer historical arc of Pan-African struggle. He reminded delegates that unity between Africa and its diaspora has always been central to liberation movements and remains essential in confronting the unfinished business of colonialism and racial injustice.
“This year at the UN General Assembly, I served notice that Ghana will move a motion next year to recognize the trans-Atlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity. I know this motion will ensure the utmost support from the entire African continent and the diaspora.”
By the close of the summit, it was clear that the event was not intended to end with declarations alone. Rather, it marked a renewed phase of engagement aimed at institutionalizing diaspora participation, strengthening international advocacy for reparations, and deepening collaboration across borders. The idea of the diaspora as Ghana’s “17th Region” was repeatedly framed not as symbolism, but as a call to action requiring policy alignment, sustained dialogue, and organized people-to-people cooperation.
As conversations continue beyond the two days in Accra, the 2025 Diaspora Summit stands as a significant moment in Africa’s ongoing effort to reclaim historical truth, advance reparative justice, and build a future grounded in unity between the continent and its global family.
Source:
www.ghanaweb.com
