Prime Minister of Barbados, the Honourable Mia Mottley will deliver the feature address at the virtual launch of the Pan African Festival TT Commemorating Emancipation, hosted by the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago on May 25, live on UWITV at 5:30 pm EC time.
Prime Minister Mottley, who is also the Chair of CARICOM, during her December 2019 mission to Nairobi, Kenya said: โOur region and Africa have been separated, not just by the Atlantic Ocean, but by centuries of division and exploitation. And we as a region are adamant that we will not allow this separation to continue any further. When we claim our Atlantic destiny, we are conscious that we are coming home. She added, โWe believe that it is incumbent on our generation to move to the next level and โฆremove the separation that was foisted upon us for centuries.โ
Prime Minister Mottley is expected to address issues of relevance to Africa and its Diaspora in this the sixth year of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent, in addition to issues of Caribbean unity in these challenging times.
The launch announces the ESCTTโs decision to transform the commemorative events leading up to the Emancipation celebration on August 1, due to the restrictions placed on social gatherings as a result of COVID-19. The ESCTT will take this yearโs observances onto the virtual platform, starting with the launch.
โWe intend to take the positive out of this very complex and challenging scenario that is affecting everyone across the world, especially as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Black Power Revolutionโ, said Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, the newly appointed Executive Chair of ESCTT. โAfter much consideration and exploring what is possible, we have decided the best way forward is to move programmes online. Such an approach will allow not only people from Trinidad and Tobago to participate and enjoy events but persons from the Diaspora and the African continent.โ
For 2020, the organisation launches its activities in collaboration with The University of the West Indies, Open Campus (UWIOC). UWIOC is partnering with the organisation in its quest to manage aspects of its celebration virtually. The launch will be transmitted across the region on UWI TV Global via multiple Flow Evo channels. In Trinidad, it will be shown on Flow Channel 102, at 5:30pm EC time (4.30 p.m. JA; and 3.30 p.m. Belize), as well as live streamed on uwitv.org, the Open Campus and ESCTTโs social media platforms, and www.emancipationtt.com
The Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Dr the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly has accepted the invitation to address the launch and so too His Excellency Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chair of the African Union Commission, from his location in Addis Ababa. Our own Khafra Kambon, Director of Regional and Pan African Affairs of the ESCTT, will speak to this yearโs theme 1970 Remembered: Reconnection and Recommitment.
โAs we have done in the past, our launch is being held on African Liberation Day. It was on this day in 1963 that 31 African leaders convened a summit to found the Organization of African Unity. Now, 57 years later, the purpose of this day is to symbolize the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from the remnants of foreign domination and exploitation and to strengthen links with their Diaspora,โ said Uzoma-Wadada, who will also present information on the way in which the commemoration activities will be transformed in 2020.
The event will be chaired by Dr. Asha Kambon and will feature powerful performances from an exciting cast including Brother Valentino with his 1970 commemorative rendition, poetry by Dr. Eintou Pearl Springer (h.c.), Muhammad Muwakil, Chibale Drumming Ensemble and pannists Dejean and Deja Cain.