Meet The First Lady of Ghana and Pastor Marvin Winans

-Transatlantic Celebration Press Release

Washington, DC and Accra, Ghana – On February 16, 2011 from 10am to 1pm,

Oiada International and our corporate sponsors Polycom, Vodafone and the

United Distance Learning Association (UDLA) will host a celebration of

African and African American culture at the National Museum of African

Art/Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and the W.E.B. Du Bois

Memorial Centre for Pan-African Culture in Accra, Ghana. The event can be

viewed worldwide by a telecast made available through Polycom. The event

will feature live face to face interaction with participants from schools

from the US and Ghana. Discussions will be based on questions from

participants from both sides ranging in topics from everyday life, history

and culture. Each school will have 10 minutes to present their prepared

historical facts. The goal of the event is to celebrate our history and

culture on an international platform and introduce the program to officials

that can help implement the program throughout both countries.

"Each year Oiada continues to advance its mission of sharing the rich

history and heritage of Africa through educational and cultural awareness to

all people." said Eric K. Jones, CEO of Oiada International Inc. "We are

extremely excited about this year’s event being held at two internationally

renowned venues. We will continue to have more of these collaborative events

not just for Black History Month, but all year long.”

At the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Centre in Accra, it is our extreme honor and

privilege to have Her Excellency, First Lady of Ghana, Mrs. Ernestina Naadu

Mills as our guest speaker in Ghana. First Lady Mills is known for her

passion about young people and works hard to promote literacy, especially

for some of the girls in rural areas whose education is sometimes disrupted

by social pressures. In the US, we are excited to have welcoming remarks by

Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole because of her tireless efforts as an educator and

activist for social and economic justice. As our guest speaker, we have

Pastor Marvin L. Winans, the grammy-winning artist of the famed “Winans”

gospel group and chancellor of The Marvin L. Winans Academy of the

Performing Arts. We are pleased to have students from Howard

University, School Without Walls, New Hope Academy, E.L. Haynes Public

Charter School, Roosevelt High School and The Latin American Youth Center

attend the event live at the Smithsonian. Students from The Marvin L.Winans

Academy of the Performing Arts in Detroit, Tuskegee University in Tuskegee,

Alabama, Essex County College from Newark, NJ will participate via

telepresence. From Ghana, students from the Achimota School, University of

Accra, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology(KNUST) and Mate

Maise School from Cape Coast will participate in this celebratory event.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, whose mission is to inspire

conversations about the beauty, power and diversity of African arts and

cultures worldwide are co-hosting the event with Oiada International Inc.

The goal of Oiada International Inc for the past 13 years has been to

provide educational programs and services that encourage the appreciation of

Ghanaian and African cultures and history to celebrate Oiada’s telepresence

distance learning programs which bridge cultural and communication gaps

between the two continents while emphasizing the ways African culture

intersects, overlaps, and complements all people and all nations the world

over.

The ANCC’s primary mission is to link the residents of Ghana and the US via

the ANCC TELEPRESENCE Communications Center which will be the foundation for

a global network of students, residents, academicians and professionals

concerned with bridging the educational and cultural gap between Ghana and

the US. Our "live" exchanges break down the misconceptions and explore the

similarities and differences between our cultures. We also provide students

with computer and technology skills while reinforcing skills in language

arts, history, research, public speaking, math and science and providing an

international stage for them to showcase those skills. By utilizing our 21st

century telepresence cultural centers, we are empowering students and

individuals to become global citizens.

About the National Museum of African Art

The National Museum of African Art is America’s only museum dedicated to the

collection, conservation, study and exhibition of traditional and

contemporary African art. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30

p.m., except Dec. 25. Admission is free. The museum is located at 950

Independence Avenue S.W., near the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue

and Orange lines. For more information about this exhibition, call (202)

633-4600 or visit the museum’s website at Africa.si.edu.

For general Smithsonian information, call (202) 633-1000 or TTY (202)

633-5285.

Oiada is a non-profit, 501(c) (3) organization www.oiadaintl.org that has

been for the past 13 years dedicated to providing educational programs and

services that compliment a school's core curriculum while encouraging the

appreciation of African and African American cultures and history. Our

latest project, The Akoma Ntoso Cultural Center(ANCC) of Newark, NJ and Cape

Coast, Ghana introduced a "live" face to face connection between US and

Ghanaian students on October 3, 2009. By utilizing our 21st century

telepresence cultural centers, we are empowering students to become global

citizens. Please click on this link to view our events

http://oiadaintl.org/events.htm . Here is another link to view the Channel

9 News feature story they did on our centers for Black History Month.

http://www.my9tv.com/dpp/wildcard_13/Students-Go-Back-To-Their-Roots

Please RSVP by February 10 to info@oiadaintl.org or call 973-732-3188. NY/NJ

residents can attend the event live from our center in Newark. If you are

unable to come to the center, you can view the event online by going to our

website www.oiadaintl.org and on clicking on "Instructions to watch

Transatlantic Celebration on February 16, 2011"

For media related enquiries please contact:

Eric Kofi E Jones, CEO

mobile: (917) 363-8546

ericjones@oiadaintl.org

www.oiadaintl.org