In Accra, Ghana, the West Africa Music and Arts Festival (WAMAFEST) has kicked off with a bang, bringing together industry heavyweights and stakeholders from across the region.
The festival celebrates West Africa’s rich cultural heritage and its global impact, culminating in a grand concert at the University of Ghana on June 22.
Ghana, hosting WAMAFEST for the first time, adds this vibrant event to its growing list of international arts festivals, including Chale Wote Street Art Festival, AfroFuture, and Black Star Line Festival.
Akwasi Agyeman, CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, emphasized the importance of collaboration among West African countries to preserve and promote their cultural heritage through music, noting that “music knows no borders, and neither should our efforts to protect our heritage.”
Prof. Jasmine Young, Director of the Warner Music Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University, highlighted the significance of sustaining the festival for future generations, stating, “WAMAFEST is an investment in our cultural future.”
The festival’s excitement is further amplified by a Juneteenth Parade over the weekend, celebrating freedom and promoting tourism and economic development in the subregion.
WAMAFEST is part of the “Beyond the Return” campaign, a 10-year successor to the “Year of Return” campaign in 2019, which marked the 400th anniversary of the first recorded arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia, USA.
The launch event drew notable attendees, including Ghana’s Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Andrew Agyapa Mercer, Second Lady Samira Bawumia, and representatives from various West African countries, as well as music executives and artists such as Efya, Reggie Rockstone, and Trigmatic.
With the stage set, WAMAFEST promises a blend of cultural pride and unity that will resonate far beyond West Africa.
