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GTA Ladies Club Clean-Up Jamestown in readiness for ‘Year of Return’ Events
The Ghana Tourism Authority’s Ladies Club has begun activities to create awareness for the ongoing Year of Return, Ghana 2019 celebrations by cleaning up Jamestown in readiness for the Jamestown to Jamestown event.
The exercise, led by the Vice President of the GTA Ladies Club, Mrs. Roberta Okine Fumador had the Accra Metropolitan Assembly workers participating. The clean-up exercise was done along the major streets of Jamestown and the market centres.
The Jamestown to Jamestown event is one of the activities of the ‘Year of Return, Ghana 2019′ calendar. The event will afford members of the African-American community to honour both their African ancestors and the struggle for Black liberation in America with a groundbreaking trek from Jamestown, Virginia to Jamestown, Accra in August.
The sensitization exercise is, therefore, a huge opportunity to promote Ghana, Africa and Africa-American cultural understandings, and also to ensure that we operate in a clean environment.
Mrs. Okine Fumador, who spoke to the media, pleaded with the residents to change their attitudes towards sanitation and actively participate in keeping their environment clean.
She also appealed to the media to embark on an educational campaign on good sanitation practices to curb the menace of indiscriminate disposal of waste.
The Ghana Tourism Authority ladies club has the aim of improving the image of the organization and the welfare of the ladies within GTA. As part of their objective to assist management to achieve the organisation’s goals, the Club organised the clean-up and sensitization exercise to support the ‘Year of Return, Ghana 2019’, a spiritual and birth-right journey inviting the Global African family, home and abroad to mark 400 years of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619.
The Club hopes to take on other sensitisation programs in the months ahead.
Photos: ‘Year of Return, Ghana 2019’ celebration cloth launched
As part of souvenirs for the Year of Return, Ghana 2019 celebrations which commemorate 400year’s since the first enslaved African arrived in Jamestown Virginia, USA, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture presented a peice of the ‘Year of Return’ cloth to the President, H.E. Nana Akufo Addo as she launched the cloth for the celebration at the Accra International Conference Centre.
The Year of Return forms part of the President’s aim of creating the enabling environments for all Africans in the diaspora to return home #Brafie not only to experience culture, warmth and rhythm but also for business.
The launch of the cloth was part of activities at the opening ceremony at the Ghana Diaspora Homecoming celebrations which is being held at the Conference Centre, under the theme: “Recognising Diaspora contributions towards nation building ” from July 3-6, 2019.
The ‘Year of Return’ cloth which comes in two colours, Black and White were showcased to participants of the summit by Miss Tourism beauty Queens and other models who donned the cloth in different styles including Kaba and slit, shirts, skirts and the traditional “Colar”.
Performing the launch, the Minister of Tourism urged all our African brothers and sister to take a piece with them. Present at the summit was, the Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture, Hon. Barbara Oteng Gyasi, Minister for Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr Akwasi Agyeman and Director of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President who is the Chairman of the Year Of Return Steering Committee and several Ghanaians from the diaspora partaking in the Homecoming Summit. At the forecourt of the Conference Centre was an ongoing exhibition where people showcased various wares.
About Year Of Return
2nd Women in Tourism Summit puts the spotlight on empowering Ghanaian women
Women have been challenged to work together for the common good of dealing with the difficulties they face in their fields of endeavour. Especially for women in tourism, working in tandem with one another is very crucial in maximizing the opportunities that exist within the vast sector.
These have been some of the outcomes today at the 2nd Women in Tourism Summit Ghana which was held under the theme, “Empowering Women in Ghana’s Tourism Industry” at the Accra Tourist Information Centre.
In his welcome address CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyeman said the increased contributions of the women in the tourism sector in recent years have positively impacted the tourism industry.
Despite their impact, he observed, “women continue to be underrepresented in management and leadership. The goal of this event amongst others is to discuss how we can provide the enabling environment to empower and encourage more women to reach the upper echelons of tourism practice.”
To this end, Agyeman stressed the need for women to come together and avoid tendencies that beset their collective empowerment. He mentioned that tourism as a sector is big enough to accommodate everybody. “There is space for everyone,” he insisted.
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi in her keynote address said there is real potential for women to precipitate the global sustainable tourism agenda if they worked closely together.
“Women can adequately drive goals in tourism to accomplishments, at different levels of endeavour to ensure sustainable tourism. Tourism provides great opportunities for women participation in the workforce, women’s entrepreneurship and women’s leadership than any other sector of the economy,” she said.
Quoting figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Hon. Oteng-Gyasi said the tourism sector continues to create avenues for women empowerment through job creation and entrepreneurship.
“According to the UNWTO in certain countries, tourism has almost twice as many women employers. While in other countries, more that 70% are business owners are women compared to just about 20% in other sectors in the economy, so we are leading in tourism” She mentioned.
The 2019 edition of the Women in Tourism Summit Ghana brought women and men from across the length and breadth of Ghana, Africa and beyond to deliberate on the critical issues of women empowerment, gender equality and explored the opportunities that exist within the tourism sector for business linkages.
Highlights included presentations by leading tourism experts on different themes. They comprised, a presentation on “Brand Building for Your Tourism” by Kwakye Donkor, CEO, Africa Tourism Partners, “Building a Digital Business Strategy” by Elizabeth Tay, Team Lead, Genie Intel Ltd., “Raising Funding for Tourism Enterprises” by Habiba Sumani, Director, National Board for Small Scale Industries, and many others.
Director of International Operations at Dubai Tourism, Stella Fubara Obinwa shared insights on “Surviving in the World of Tourism,” with an Executives’ Dialogue presenting views from industry captains; Stella Appenteng, Managing Director, Apstar Tours, Adoma Peprah, Country Manager, Visa Ghana and Thenjiwe Morule, Head, Sales and Marketing BCD – Travel, South Africa.
The Women in Tourism Summit Ghana is organised by the Ghana Tourism Authority in partnership with Africa Tourism Partners, South Africa.
About Women In Tourism Summit
The ‘Women in Tourism Summit‘ is an annual gathering that brings together leading Tourism practitioners from around the globe to Accra to discuss the role of Women in Tourism Development.
From discussions around leadership, funding options, entrepreneurial challenges, career choices in tourism, digital trends in tourism and many more, the event is usually a packed day of learning and networking. Speakers for last year were Hon. Catherine Afeku -( Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture), Elcia Grandcourt- ( Regional Director,UNWTO Africa), Stella Fubara- Obinwa, (Director, International Operations, Dubai Tourism, Africa Market), Bella Ahu (President, Ghana Tourism Federation), Thembi Kunene-Msimang (COO, Retosa), Kwakye Donkor ( Africa Tourism Partners) Akwasi Agyeman (Ghana Tourism Authority), Assia Riccio (Founder-Evolvin’ Women, Dubai), Ambassador Nancy Sam (CEO, Staples Travel) and many more.
Source: Voyages Afriq
Ghana Tourism Authority set for 2nd Women in Tourism Summit and Masterclass
The Ghana Tourism Authority in partnership with the Women in Tourism Secretariat and the African Tourism Partners is organizing the 2nd annual Women in Tourism Summit and Masterclass at the Accra Tourist Information Centre (ATIC) on Thursday, 27th June 2019 under the theme: “EMPOWERING WOMEN IN GHANA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY”.
Globally, tourism is being leveraged in Ghana to mitigate gender inequality, and the Ghana Tourism Authority aims to drive women empowerment in Ghana especially in tourism development through the Women in Tourism Summit.
The summit is an opportunity for women operating across the entire tourism value chain to meet their counterparts, share knowledge and learn from each other. It also seeks to transform the tourism economy to become a fundamental pillar in advancing the role of women tourism entrepreneurs, professionals and leaders.
Speakers for the main event include the Hon. Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture; Mr. Akwasi Agyeman; CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority; Stella Fubara-Obinwa, Africa Regional Manager- Dubai Tourism; Assia Riccio-Smith, Founder-Evolvin’ Women Dubai; Mr. Kwakye Donkor, CEO Africa Tourism Partners, DR. Eric Ntiamoah Mensah, President CPF Medical Unit; Stella Apenteng, Managing Director, APSTAR Tours; Adoma Peprah, Country Manager, Visa Ghana; Thenjiwe Morule, Head Sales and Marketing IBCD- Travel, South Africa; Elizabeth Tay, Team Lead , Genie Intel LTD.
The Women in Tourism Summit will bring together women game-changers, mission-driven companies and individuals, professionals, and leaders in tourism to network and learn more about issues relating to funding, branding, networking, running of businesses and leadership across the entire tourism value chain.
Visa Waiver Agreement Between Jamaica and Ghana to be Implemented
WRITTEN BY: ALECIA SMITH
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness says a visa waiver agreement is to be implemented between Jamaica and Ghana.
Mr. Holness said the Foreign Affairs Ministers of both countries have been mandated to negotiate and conclude the agreement.
The Prime Minister was issuing a press statement at Jamaica House on Saturday (June 15) along with President of the Republic of Ghana His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who arrived in the island earlier today for a two-day official working visit. The statement followed bilateral talks between both leaders.
President Akufo-Addo’s visit forms part of a Caribbean tour to promote ‘The Year of Return, Ghana 2019’, which is a major landmark marketing campaign targeting the African – American and Diaspora Market to mark 400 years of the first enslaved African arriving in Jamestown Virginia.
The Prime Minister noted that the campaign was “central in our discussions” noting that the initiative, presents excellent opportunities to “build on the fraternal bonds and take the relations between our two countries and our peoples to greater heights”.
“We can use this initiative to forge increased inter-personal connections and at the same time deepen the trade and commercial relations between our respective countries,” he said.
Mr. Holness said the Ghanaian President’s visit reflects the continued strong bilateral relationship that exists between Jamaica and the Republic of Ghana and reaffirmed Jamaica’s commitment to strengthening and deepening the relations between both countries.
“Our relations are deeply rooted in our ancestral and historical connections, forged over many years and only made stronger by our firm democratic traditions, shared principles and vision for peace and prosperity, and the cultural affinities which unite our peoples,” he said.
The Prime Minister informed that he and the Ghanaian President engaged in fruitful discussions to strengthen the partnership between both countries, to secure increased development opportunities.
He noted that discussions also focused on important bilateral matters and in particular, measures to improve trade and investment and the movement of people, goods and services between the countries.
“We also discussed the excellent opportunities for cooperation in other areas such as energy and mining; sport and culture; as well as tourism, education and training,” he said.
In his remarks, President Akufo-Addo stressed that it is now time to “give teeth” to the longstanding relations between Jamaica and Ghana “by making sure that the various areas of engagement in education, tourism, cultural activities are specifically tied down”.
“We cannot have visas standing in the way of those relations, so the decision has been taken by my Government… to provide visa-free arrangements for Jamaicans in Ghana, and facilitate and make it easier for you to accept our invitation to come and join us for the Year of Return,” he stated.
He noted that the intention is to use the symbolism of ‘The Year of Return, Ghana 2019’ to take concrete steps to solidify the relationship between not only Jamaica but other countries in the region.
“The relationship that we are forming here in Jamaica will form part of this process of solidifying the relations between those of us on the continent of Africa and those of you in the Diaspora outside Africa,” he said.
As part of his schedule of activities for Saturday, President Akufo-Addo was led on a tour of the Seville Great House and Heritage Park in St. Ann.
On Sunday, the Ghanaian President will meet with the leadership of the University of the West Indies. He will also give a floral tribute at the shrine of National Hero, the Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
The President will conclude his visit on Sunday by giving remarks at the Opening of the 8th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference at the Jamaica Conference Centre.
Source: jis.gov.jm
SARKODIE, WENDY SHAY, OTHERS SLATED FOR MMC LIVE 2019
Accra, June 2019
Global Media Alliance, organizer of the entertainment show, Music, Magic and
Comedy (MMC LIVE), has confirmed Sarkodie and Wendy Shay as the lead artistes for
this year’s edition of the show.
Both artistes won awards at the recent Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), with
Sarkodie winning the Artiste of the Decade while Wendy Shay emerged the New Artiste
of the Year.
The show, scheduled for Saturday, June 29th 2019 at the Accra International
Conference Center (AICC), is a star-studded entertainment show which features
renowned performers in Music, Magic and Comedy, all on one stage. It targets the
youth but also appeals to some sections of the adult generation.
Speaking on the event, Mr. Boateng, CEO of Global Media Alliance expressed optimism
ahead of this year’s show.
“We are thrilled about the diversity that this year’s MMC Live presents. We are blending
a decade of Sarkodie’s reign in the music industry and the new life that Wendy Shay
brings to entertainment. MMC is a mixed bag; different in the sense that we give our
audience a combination of music, magic and comedy from only the finest. Apart from
that, we also make room for budding talents in the country.”
“We have Sarkodie and Wendy Shay as our lead artistes and Acapella from Nigeria.
There will be comedians; OB Amponsah and Foster Romanus. Our magician for the night is Voncujovi”. he added.
Since 2015 the show has witnessed hilarious performances from talented characters
like Samini, King Promise, Kofi Kinaata, Episode, Jacinta and DKB with magical
concerts from Larry Soffer, the magician and mentalist from South Africa.
A former slave who was the first black Catholic priest takes a step toward sainthood
(CNN) No Catholic seminary in the United States would take him, so Augustine Tolton went to Rome, where he thought he might become a missionary to Africa.
The next steps
Tolton’s story
Ghana’s president promotes “Year of Return” to five Caribbean nations
By Ray Chickrie – Caribbean News Now contributor – June 12, 2019
GEORGETOWN, Guyana — President Akufo-Addo has embarked on a working visit to five Caribbean nations as part of efforts promoting the “Year of Return.”
Having proclaimed 2019, as the “Year of Return” to Ghana, the 400th anniversary of the commencement of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, when the first 20 West African slaves landed in Jamestown, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the commemoration, according to President Akufo-Addo, “is a statement of our determination that never again should the African peoples permit themselves to be subjected to such dehumanizing conditions, sold into slavery and have their freedoms curtailed in order to build up forcibly countries other than their own and create wealth for the peoples of unknown lands to which they were sent, wealth from whose enjoyment they were largely excluded.”
The countries to be visited by the president are Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica.
On arrival in Guyana on Monday evening (10 Jun 2019), with much jubilation, euphoria and symbolism, since Nana Akufo-Addo is the first sitting Ghanaian leader to visit Guyana, and from one of Africa’s fasting growing economies. Ghana is home to a large segment of the Guyanese population whose enslaved ancestors were uprooted from the Gold Coast.
On Tuesday, president Nana Akufo-Addo laid a wreath at the Georgetown Non-Aligned Movement monument where there is a bust of Ghanaian first leader and co-founder of the movement, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He also laid a wreath at the Square of the Revolution, at the statue of Kofi (Cuffy), Guyana’s national hero.
The Ghanaian leader said, “a national hero of Guyana with the name Kofi, an Akkan namely, clearly has strong links with Ghana.” Kofi was one of many Akkans who led major slave rebellions in Guyana and Suriname.
Later in the day, president Nana Akufo-Addo was received at State House by president Granger for the signing of bilateral agreements and a luncheon in his honorr.
President Nana Akufo-Addo called for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of agriculture, energy, trade and tourism investment.
The Ghanaian leader also met with the leader of the opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo and the local Ghanaian community in Guyana.
The events of the “Year of Return” are, above all, aimed at solidifying relations with descendants of Africa, resident in the Americas and the Caribbean, who have been defined as the sixth region of the African Union.
ILO CONFERENCE
Before visiting Guyana the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was invited by the leadership of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to address the 108th International Labour Conference, in Geneva, Switzerland.
President Akufo-Addo addressed the opening session of the conference, Monday, June 10, 2019, in which he set out Ghana’s contribution to the future of the world of work.
This year’s session brought together over 5,000 delegates from around the globe to find solutions to the challenges of the future of the world of work and celebrate the centenary of the ILO.
Source: guyaneseonline.net
Accra City Hotel named Ghana’s Leading Hotel at World Travel Awards 2019
Accra City Hotel which is a partner hotel for the ‘Year of Return, Ghana 2019‘ has received the prestigious Hospitality Oscar from the World Travel Awards™ and won “Ghana’s Leading Hotel” in 2019.
World Travel Award was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the World Travel Award brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.
This latest Hospitality Oscar is a welcome addition to the many awards and accolades Accra City Hotel has won over the last years.
The award reaffirms the commitment of the Accra City Hotel to delighting guests with warm Ghanaian hospitality, ensuring that it stands out among its peers. The World Travel Award is a rewarding recognition of the Accra City Hotel’s philosophy of caring hospitality.
Mr. Yaw K. Mamphey, Sales and Marketing Manager of Accra City Hotel, received the trophy and certificate for winning the award from World Travel Award saying: “It has never been our intention to win awards, merely serving excellence every day to our guests. We pride ourselves on creating memorable experiences and offering authentic Hospitality to all our guests. We are very proud of this achievement of excellence and would like to thank our Guests for sharing their experiences at our beautiful hotel and rating us as excellent”.
“We are looking forward to improving our market positioning after receiving this award, it is a recognition and will further motivate us to enhance our services,” Yaw Mamphey added.
In terms of delivering continuous improvement, The Accra City Hotel has succeeded in many ways including the refurbishment of their food and beverage areas.
They show no signs of slowing down either, continuing on from the success of their refurbishment project, the General Manager reveals that preparations are underway for the addition of a magnificent new events area at Accra City Hotel which will host weddings, business events and other private parties.
General Manager of Accra City Hotel, Roman Krabel, said: “It is a great honour to receive this award that I want to celebrate with my team. I would like to thank them all for their hard work and customer-focus efforts, which enabled us to win the most globally respected award. Providing hospitality from the heart and high-quality service is what we do as part of our best experience pledge to the guests.”
“Whether they’re in front of house or behind the scenes every member of our team is an ambassador for our hotel and they share in this accolade. It’s not an award that can be bought and the assessment criteria are extremely tough.
“To win the award, our 4-star Accra City Hotel had to compete against all 5-star properties in Ghana providing strong competition in every category. Accra City Hotel is an organization that strives for excellence, excellence in terms of the guest experience and excellence in terms of how we operate our business” the General Manager added.
The 4-star Accra City Hotel is located in the heart of Accra, one of Africa’s most vibrant and exciting cities. Defined by cutting-edge design and a creative ambience, the chic lifestyle hotel offers 196 rooms with contemporary comforts.
With its finger on the city pulse, guests at Accra City Hotel can enjoy in-vogue gourmet dining experiences, sophisticated seminars and conferences and glamorous private parties, all complemented by gracious Ghanaian hospitality.
Source: myjoyonline.com
Ghana To Support Barbados with 375 Qualified Nurses
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has, in principle, agreed to a request by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, to send some three hundred and seventy-five Ghanaian nurses to Barbados to work in a number of their government medical facilities.
This came to the fore when President Akufo-Addo and Prime Minister Mottley held bilateral talks on Friday, 14th June 2019, in Bridgetown, Barbados, after the Ghanaian leader paid a day’s working visit to that country.
Addressing a press conference in the aftermath of the bilateral discussions, and with Barbados facing an acute nursing shortage, the Barbadian Prime Minister stated that “we have indicated that we are searching for just under 400 nurses, so it is not a small number, and we really do believe that this is a wonderful opportunity of co-operation between our two countries.”
In addition, she noted that there was also an initial promise to secure the nurses and provide joint education programmes going forward, all in an attempt to secure Barbados’ healthcare sector.
On his part, President Akufo-Addo indicated that “we have a surplus of nurses in Ghana, and placing them all in our public health system is one of my headaches. There have been a lot (of nurses) produced, which, for several years, we have not been able to do anything with.”
He continued, “So, I am going back. I will be back in Accra on Monday, and, the week after, the Prime Minister will hear from me on this matter of nurses.”
With President Akufo-Addo being the first leader of Ghana to visit Barbados, the two leaders agreed to reactivate a 2005 cultural, technical and scientific agreement signed between the two countries, an agreement which has been dormant for 14 years.
The discussions also touched on tourism and transportation, with Ghana and Barbados agreeing to work on an air services agreement, which will establish direct air links between the two countries, so as to boost trade and people-to-people contact.
On the issue of renewable energy, President Akufo-Addo expressed Ghana’s desire to collaborate with Barbados, a country which is giant in that field, and reiterated Ghana’s commitment to increase the renewable energy component of her energy generation mix.
As a demonstration of the close ties between Ghana and Barbados, the President expressed his commitment to the establishment of an Honorary Consulate in Barbados, with Barbados set to establish a High Commission in Accra by the end of 2019.
Source: Ghana.gov.gh
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