General News of Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2021-09-22Du Bois Center to be transformed into a museum complex
President Akufo-Addo and some of his appointees and their counterparts from the US in a photo
• The Du Bois Center in Accra is to receive a facelift
• President Akufo-Addo is making this possible through an agreement
• The place will be known as a museum complex
The Du Bois Centre is set to be transformed into a museum complex, the presidency has said.
This, according to a report
Read full articleby presidency.gov.gh is being made possible through the signing of a historic partnership arrangement between the Du Bois Museum Foundation Ghana, an affiliate of the W. E B Dubois Foundation New York, and the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Speaking at the signing event, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo urged the African Diaspora to follow in the footsteps of W. E Dubois by making Africa their home, and contributing to the development of the continent.
The report added that the partnership was initiated by the president in 2019 as part of his trip to promote “The Year of Return”.
This arrangement is also to see to the transformation of the current Du Bois Memorial Centre and burial site in Accra, into a state-of-the-art museum complex and world-class destination for scholars and heritage tourists.
President Akufo-Addo explained the significance of the agreement in strengthening historical, cultural, and economic ties between Ghana and the United States, and Africans in the Diaspora.
“The Partnership will see the Du Bois Museum Foundation Ghana, leading the construction of a multi-million-dollar Museum Complex to preserve Dr. Du Bois’ legacy, over a 50-year period.
“The Du Bois Museum Complex aims to transform the Centre, and create a living museum that revives the transformative spirit and vision of Dr. Du Bois for a unified ancestral home for Africans in the diaspora around the world.
“Upon completion, the complex will serve as a historic memorial site, where visitors can honor his life and legacy, connect to their cultural and ancestral roots, and serve as an impetus to inspire solidarity between people of African descent,” the report said.
This agreement is expected to build on the government’s “Year of Return” and “Beyond the Return” campaigns that encourage the return of the African Diaspora from around the world.
Dr. Du Bois, a civil rights pioneer and one of the world’s leading black intellectuals and thinkers, became a citizen of Ghana, and resided in the country until his death in 1963.
