Virtual – [December 5, 2024]

In preparation for the Education for Africa Dialogic Summit (EADiS), the Pan-African Council has partnered with Global Impact Industries and Africa Voices Dialogue to launch a virtual summit this December 6, 2024, which will culminate in a 3-day in-person summit and 2-day excursion in Nairobi, Kenya, or Johannesburg, South Africa, from May 26–30, 2025. The initiative will focus on the historical and educational connections between HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and African institutions, aiming to deepen Pan-African integration within academic departments, leadership, and students. This effort will foster a global network of Pan-African scholars and advocates across the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and the broader Diaspora.

The panel will feature vibrant discussions between leaders from African universities and HBCUs, focusing on strategies to champion the African education agenda globally. Building on the momentum of the recent Education for Africa Dialogic Summit, this initiative aims to lay the foundation for lasting partnerships in support of Pan-African education and connecting with the broader global diaspora community.

Project objectives include:

1. Bridge Pan-African History with HBCUs
   This panel will highlight the historical ties between Pan-Africanism and HBCUs, creating an avenue for
   educational institutions from the U.S. and Africa to integrate and collaborate. This will support the shared
   vision of uniting African and African American students and scholars in the global academic community.
2. Facilitate E-HBCU Panel with Academic Leadership and Students
   Host a virtual event scheduled on December 6, 2024. The event will focus on leadership from various
   academic departments, allowing both faculty and students to discuss important issues, exchange ideas,
   and develop strategies for long-term cooperation.
3. Invite 14 HBCU and African Universities Speakers
   Representatives from at least four HBCUs will be invited to speak on the history and future of Pan-
   Africanism in education while discussing potential collaborations with African universities.
4. Invite Key Agencies, Global Diaspora and Key Leaders
   Representatives from key agencies will be invited to speak on the resources, private sector
   emerging market commitments of HBCUs, while discussing potential collaborations with African
   universities.
5. Engage African Universities
   African universities within our existing network will be invited to participate. This will strengthen
   existing relationships and open opportunities for future partnerships.
6. Provide High-Level Administration and Support
   We will provide specialized administrative support throughout the event. This includes recommending
   and securing relevant HBCU panelists who are influential in Pan-Africanism and global education.

RSVP link: https://www.bit.ly/AVD_31

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL  —

At the invitation of the Consul General of Angola, His Excellency Mateus de Sá Miranda, Pan-African Council Brazil representatives participated in the day of homage to the Founder of the Nation and National Hero, Agostinho Neto, today, in Rio de Janeiro. The Council extends a special thanks to the entire diplomatic core of the Republic of Angola for the invitation and honor of being able to participate in such an important moment.

Angola has deep roots within the social fabric of Brazil where much of the culture is influenced by those who were taking to the country during the disastrous period of slavery.

A virtual forum on leveraging African cultural heritage as a strategy for integration and regional development

QUIBDO, CHOCO, REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA — On Thursday, September 17, 2020 the Pan-African Council alongside the Government of Choco, Colombia is co-organising a virtual forum entitled “Cultural Heritage as a Strategy for Integration and Regional Development”.

The Chocó Department is a region of Colombia known for its overwhelming Afro-Colombian population, nearing 90% of the total population. Located in the west of the country, it is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The Fiestas de San Pacho (The St. Francis of Assisi Festival) is held annual in the department’s capital Quibdó, which consist of sixteen days of barrio-based parades and religious observations, with other activities that begin a month earlier. These celebrations have served as an affirmation of community and a claim to belonging and ownership of African heritage, as a form of cultural resistance.

This virtual forum will be carried out with the objective of commemorating Heritage Month in the Department of Choco, Colombia, where local, national and international speakers will be invited to address the issue of cultural heritage as a regional integration and development strategy. Special guests will discuss ways in which culture can be used a catalyst for development and the lessons that can be learned from a global perspective that involves the experiences of people of African descent in the United States and Brazil. This forum is geared towards artists, creators, cultural managers, members of the area, culture and heritage councils, municipal cultural coordinators and secretaries, and the general public.

The event, held in Spanish, is free and open to the public. For more information, click here.

On Monday, September 21, global leaders and notable personalities will be convening for the launch of one of the most important projects of cultural and historical significance of our time, the Pan-African Heritage World Museum.

The brainchild of Honorable Kojo Yankah, founder of the African University College of Communications (AUCC), The Pan-African World Museum will be a uniquely curated virtual and physical space located in Ghana, West Africa. The museum is dedicated to sharing the true story of Africa and its people under the watchful eye of the world’s most noted scholars from the birth of civilization to present day. The vision of the museum is to curate, preserve and communicate the history, ideals, philosophy, and cultural heritage of people of African descent within a 21st century context of social, economic and political development.

“After centuries of separation, people of African descent have an obligation to share a common space that helps to bridge the wide gap that exists among them as a result of deliberate mis-education and historical oppression. The Pan African World Heritage Museum fulfills this obligation,” said Honorable Yankah.

With a projected completion date of 2022, the museum is supported by an international NGO governance model with board of directors and the most prolific group of academic scholars overseeing the development. It has been endorsed by the government of Ghana, UNESCO, the African Union, the Association of African Universities, and more.

The virtual conference which is being organized by pan-African media company Face2face Africa, a partner of the project, will take place on Monday, September 21st from 11am to 12:30pm.

“Centuries ago when enslaved Africans walked through the “Door Of No Return” in Cape Coast to a world unknown, it was not simply an abduction of human resource. It was a symbolic moment that severed ties between those home and away. At Face2face Africa, the quest has been to mend these ties as well as be the loudest voice telling the story of Africans separated by chains and by choice. And that is why we are proud to be a part of a historic Pan-African Heritage World Museum project in Winneba, not far from the Elmina Slave Sastle,” said CEO of Face2face Africa, Sandra Appiah.

The vision for the museum including plans to raise $30 million to complete the project will be unveiled at the launch. President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo will be delivering the keynote address. Other speakers include Eminent African Traditional Leaders, some of the major Scholars on the Academic Council, and Coordinators from across the world. Ghanaian artist Sarkodie, and American rapper and singer Mos Def, Ambassadors of the museum project, will perform. Media Partners include Africa.com, Media General of Ghana, Africa 400 Radio, and DSTV.

The event is free and open to the public. To register, click here. To learn more about the Pan-African World Museum and how you can support, visit www.pahw.org or email info@pahw.org.

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Effectively communicate the nomenclature of the world’s 1.6 billion Africans.

From Black Americans to Siddis, Afro-Brazilians to overseas Nigerians, continental Africans to the African Diaspora —  a great deal of confusion often arises from the vast diversity and scale of African groups spread across the planet. We created this free visual guide in accordance with both generally-accepted definitions and official definitions of the African Union’s Citizens & Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) to specifically help navigate the global African landscape. This will assist African and Diaspora stakeholders alongside other observers in clearly identifying and communicating the plurality of African peoples around the world.

Download the Pan-African Council’s visual definition guide for governments, organisations, institutions, writers and journalists to help distinguish and effectively communicate the nomenclature of the world’s 1.6 billion Africans.

<a href=”/files/visual-guide-semantics-african-groups.pdf” title=”Visual Guide to African Groups” target=”_blank”>Download Guide</a>

The Pan-African Council and its Colombian media chapter AfroEstilo assisted and facilitated interviews for @symeonbrown of @channel4news in the filming of this very important piece of African history in South America on #afrocolombians.

In his own words:

Filming this was emotional as a descendent of slavery. Today there are more black people of African heritage in Latin America than there is in 51/54 countries in Africa. This means if the black Latinx community repatriated to Africa they’d make the 4th most populated black African country.

Despite more enslaved Africans being taken to South America than anywhere else, the conversation on racial equality has been dominated by north American and to a lesser extent Western European voices.

This piece engages with black face, the complexities of African identity amongst Colombia’s 5M African descendants, the legacy of the slave trade and the new activists risking their lives in a country where indigenous and African activists have been readily murdered.

– Symeon Brown