Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley will deliver the feature address at the virtual launch of the Pan African Festival T&T, which will be hosted by the Emancipation Support Committee of T&T on Monday (May 25) at 5.30 pm.
Mottley, who is also the CARICOM chair, is expected to address issues of relevance to Africa and its Diaspora in this the sixth year of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent, in addition to issues of Caribbean unity in these challenging times.
Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and Deputy Chair of the African Union Commission His Excellency Kwesi Quartey will also speak at the event.
Director of Regional and Pan African Affairs of the ESCTT Khafra Kambon will also address this year’s theme - 1970 Remembered: Reconnection and Recommitment.
At the launch, the ESCTT will announce its decision to transform the commemorative events leading up to the August 1 Emancipation Day celebration due to the restrictions placed on social gatherings as a result of COVID-19. The ESCTT will take this year’s observances onto the virtual platform, starting with the launch Monday.
“We intend to take the positive out of this very complex and challenging scenario that is affecting everyone across the world, especially as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1970 Black Power Revolution,” Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, the newly- appointed ESCTT executive chair said of the plan.
“After much consideration and exploring what is possible, we have decided the best way forward is to move programmes online. Such an approach will allow not only people from Trinidad and Tobago to participate and enjoy events but persons from the Diaspora and the African continent.”
The event will also feature performances from Brother Valentino, poetry by Dr Eintou Pearl Springer, Muhammad Muwakil, Chibale Drumming Ensemble and pannists Dejean and Deja Cain.
The ESCTT is hosting this year’s activities in collaboration with The University of the West Indies, Open Campus (UWIOC). UWIOC is partnering with the organisation in its quest to manage aspects of its celebration virtually and the launch will be transmitted across the region on UWI TV Global via multiple Flow Evo channels.
In T&T, it will be shown on Flow Channel 102 at 5.30 pm and live streamed on uwitv.org, the Open Campus and ESCTT’s social media platform, and www.emancipationtt.com.
Founded in 1992, the Emancipation Support Committee of T&T is an umbrella body designed to uplift and strengthen the commemoration of Emancipation.