Following a successful launch of the first Annual Back2Africa Festival in February 2018, Ghana’s 61st Independence Celebration, and The Ghana Tourism US East Coast Visit in March 2018 to promote Ghana as a prime tourism destination, The Ghana Tourism Authority and The Adinkra Group continue to bolster their efforts to promote Ghana as a prime tourist, business and investment destination for African Americans by hosting a team of writers and photographers from the iconic, EBONY Magazine to document a 10- day tour of Ghana starting August 21 to August 31 which will be broadcasted through EBONY’s social media platforms and prominently featured in EBONY’s Power 100 issue in print and online later this year.

2019 is a landmark year marking the 400-year anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the United States in 1619 widely recognized as the start of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade where millions of Africans were kidnapped and brought to America as free labor. Underscored by The United States Congress recently passed Act H.R. 1242 – 400 Years of African-American Experience Act – recognizing the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in 1619 thus commencing the beginning of the African American experience.

Coined, the “Year of Return, Ghana 2019”, this 10-day journey kicks off a major landmark marketing campaign targeting the African-American and Diaspora Market to mark the 400 year anniversary of the first enslaved Africans arrival in the United States by returning home to Ghana in the year 2019. The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) under the Auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture will lead the project in collaboration with the Office of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, the PANAFEST Foundation, Cultural Heritage African Tours, and The Adinkra Group of USA.

The delegation will visit and document a number of historic tourist attractions and pay courtesy calls on traditional rulers in Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Central regions. They will also speak with Madam Catherine Abelema Afeku, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, officials of the Ghana Tourism Authority, and participate in this year’s Chale Wote Arts Festival, as well as interact with members of the African-American Association of Ghana, Diaspora Africa Forum and participate in an Ancestry Reveal with AfricanAncestry.com. The delegation includes: Michael Gibson, Chairman and CEO, EBONY Media Operations, Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, Journalist, EBONY Magazine, Tammy Bender and Karl A. Resse, Photographers, EBONY Magazine, Diallo Sumbry, CEO, The Adinkra Group, Kelly Davidson, Founder, KellyMaven Media, and Gina Paige, Co-Founder and President, AfricanAncestry.com.

JANUARY 2019 | “BRA FIE” Concert hosted by Damian Marley, Son of Bob Marley Targeting Caribbean market and local Ghanaian youth involvement.

FEBRUARY 2019 | Back2Africa Festival to celebrate Black History Month US music groups performances in Cape Coast Castle and African Ancestry reveals

MARCH 2019 | Independence day activities Key African American figures to celebrate Independence Day

APRIL 2019 | Heritage Paragliding Yearly paragliding festival

JUNE 2019 | Homecoming and Investment Summit Targeting second generation Ghanaians in the diaspora

JULY 2019 | PANAFEST Promote and enhance unity, Pan-Africanism, and the development of the continent of Africa itself.

AUGUST 2019 | Emancipation / African American Investment Forum Marking end of slavery in the Caribbean and an African American investment forum

NOVEMBER 2019 | Ghana Carnival Repositioning Ghana’s Carnival in the world Carnival market

DECEMBER 2019 | Right to Return and Afrochella A celebration by African Americans who received citizenship in 2016 and Major Youth Carnival in Ghana