The Year of Return, Ghana 2019 is an initiative of the government of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

– along with the U.S.-based Adinkra Group – that is intended to encourage

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n diasporans to come to Africa (specifically Ghana) to settle and invest in the continent. It was formally launched by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Nana Akufo-Addo Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

in September 2018 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as a program for Africans in the diaspora to unite with Africans. The year 2019 is symbolic as it commemorates 400 years since the first enslaved Africans touched down in Hampton, in the English colony of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in America. The program also recognizes the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

's achievements and sacrifices in the time since that event. Starting from when President Barack Obama made a visit to the Cape Coast in 2009, many famous, respected and admired African-Americans from the diaspora have visited Ghana to discover its culture. The

Ghana Tourism Authority The Ghana Tourism Authority is a Ghanaian state agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts responsible for the regulation of tourism in Ghana by marketing, promoting, licensing, classifying, researching and developing touris ...

and the

Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture ) is a ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for tourism, culture, archives, library, museum, Cultural heritage, heritage, arts, theatre, handicraft, visual arts, convention (meeting), conventi ...

lined up a slate of activities in "celebration of the resilience of the African spirit." Many

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

shared their stories regarding their experiences in Ghana during the Year of Return.

Objectives

* To make Ghana a key travel destination for African Americans and the rest of the African diaspora. * To rebuild the lost past of these 400 years. * To promote investment in Ghana and foster relationships with African Americans and the African diaspora.

Visitors

Sheila Jackson Lee Sheila Jackson Lee (born January 12, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who is the U.S. representative for , having served since 1995. The district includes most of central Houston. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and served ...

linked the initiative with the 400 Years of

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

History Commission Act that was passed in Congress in 2017. American actor and director Michael Jai White visited

towards the end of 2018. Over 40 African diasporans participated in the "Full Circle Festival", which aimed to attract visitors to the country. The list includes but not limited to * Idris Elba * Boris Kodjoe * Naomi Campbell * Anthony Anderson * Kofi Kingston *

Adrienne-Joi Johnson Adrienne-Joi Johnson (born January 2, 1963) is an American actress, choreographer, fitness trainer, and life coach. Acting since 1987, Johnson has made many guest appearances on sitcoms, television dramas and music videos; she also has numerous s ...

* Steve Harvey *

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

* T.I. * Ludacris *

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

* Akon *

Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama ''Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include '' He Got Game'' (1998), ''Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...

Diggy Simmons Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III (born March 21, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, model, and actor and the fourth child of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons of Run DMC. He is currently acting on the hit show ''Grown-ish'' as Doug Edwar ...

Jidenna Jidenna Theodore Mobisson (born May 4, 1985), known mononymously as Jidenna, is an American rapper and singer. In 2015, Jidenna released two singles, "Classic Man" (featuring Roman GianArthur and Kendrick Lamar) and "Yoga" (with Janelle Monáe), ...

* Michael Jai White * Nicole Ari Parker *

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...

* Koffee * Sam Richardson The Akwamuhene Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III, the Akwamu Paramount Chief, enstooled Michael Jai White as

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana (c ...

''Oduapong'' during his visit. Chief White's title means "The tree with strong roots that does not fear the storm".

Revenue

Up to 1.5 million tourists, including celebrities, politicians and world leaders, are expected in the country by the end of the year with up to 1.9 billion dollars also expected to be accrued in revenue as a result of the Year of Return activities. The tourism sector has also recorded a tremendous growth of 18% in international arrivals from the Americas, Britain, Caribbean and other key countries while total airport arrivals increased by 45% for the year. Its estimated spending of tourists has seen a significant increase from $1,862 in 2017 to the current figure of $2,589 per tourist, with the impact of tourism on the economy estimated to be about $1.9 billion.

Events

Afrochella Afrofuture (stylized as AfroFuture), formerly known as Afrochella, is an African music festival that started in 2019. Background AfroFuture is one of several cultural events that takes place in Ghana in December, including the Afro Nation festi ...

*Afro Nation *Back To Our Roots Tour *Detty Rave *Decemba to Rememba *Crusade 4 *Bliss on the hills *Live X Festival *The Waakye summit * Afrochic Diaspora Festival *Potomanto Art Festival *Accra Under the Stars *The Black Gala *Gold Coast Experience *AkwaabaUK *Black Is Black *PineXGinja *Meet The Moon Girls *Polo Beach Club *JD music festival - Djsky *

Panafest The Pan African Historical Theatre Project now known as PANAFEST is a cultural event held in Ghana every two years for Africans and people of African descent. It was first held in 1992. The idea of this festival is to promote and enhance unity, Pan ...

References

{{Reflist 2019 in Ghana African and Black nationalism in the United States African culture African diaspora history African-American culture African-American diaspora American expatriates in Ghana Festivals in Ghana Ghana–United States relations Ghanaian diaspora Immigration to Ghana Pan-Africanism in Ghana Post–civil rights era in African-American history Repatriated Africans Tourism in Ghana Transatlantic relations Presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo

Objectives

Visitors

Revenue

Events

See also

References