British Council meets with the chiefs of Elmina

The Edina Traditional Council has held discussions with officials of the British Council on Reflections, the forthcoming event to be held at Elmina Castle on 25 March 2007 to commemorate the Abolition of Slave Trade Act passed in the UK in 1807.

The discussions underlined the reverential character of the event and the important role of the traditional authorities and the communities.

Nana Condua, the Paramount Chief of Edina Traditional area said, ‘We in Elmina see our historical heritage as a foundation for all Africans reflecting on the past relationship between Africa and the UK, and looking ahead to Africans taking hold of our destiny and breaking the chains of dependency even today’.

The British Council representatives also met with the representatives from the Central Regional Coordinating Council, officials of the Tourist Board, Museums and Monuments Board, Regional Centre for National Culture as well as the Regional and District and Municipal Coordinating councils.

Moses Anibaba, Director of British Council and leader of the delegation says “We are pleased that the Reflections event has been embraced by the traditional authorities, local communities and various stakeholders and we feel confident that through the activities associated with Reflections, positive energies will be released for the future”.

The event is being organized by the British council in collaboration with the Edinaman Traditional Council and under the auspices of the Ghana@50 Secretariat. It is to be broadcast in local and international media.

Note to Editors

Reflections is an event which seeks to explore relationships between the UK and Africa over the past 200 years and look towards more positive relationships to be engendered in the future.

Reflections brings together an impressive array of renowned poets and musicians of African descent and from the UK who will lead a creative, inspirational and communal reflection on the Slave Trade and its aftermath to generate a sense of brighter future horizons for UK – Africa, (including the diaspora) relations. Reflections is part of Africa 2007, a three-year programme designed and managed by the British Council. The programme explores culture and identity to generate fresh ideas and create new understanding between individuals and communities in Africa and the UK.

Africa 2007 has three themes: Different Lives, Creative Celebrations and Footprints. Each theme has a number of projects that bring people together from Africa and the UK in new ways to generate fresh ideas and understandings, building

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For more information please contact Juliet Amoah, 233 21 244 253350, juliet.amoah@gh.britishcouncil.org or Diana Yanney, 233 244 383903, diana.yanney@gh.britishcouncil.org at British Council Accra, tel. 233 21 683068 and fax. 233 21 683062.

Information about the British Council

It is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We operate in 220 towns and cities in 110 countries worldwide. We build relationships and understanding between people in the UK and other countries and increase appreciation of the UK’s ideas and achievements overseas. The areas we focus on are creativity, education and civil society. We are a non-political organisation which operates at arm’s length from government.