A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and Birthright AFRICA, a non-governmental organization based in the United States. The purpose of the MoU is to strengthen the relationship that already exists between the two parties in order to promote Ghana’s tourism potential.
The goal of the Memorandum of Understanding was to make it easier to create opportunities for young people of African descent to connect with their cultural roots and history of innovation and to change their lives.
At the end of Tuesday in Accra, during a brief signing ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Birthright Africa, Madam Walla Elsheikh, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). She said that it would offer a free educational experience and build an ecosystem in which all partners from the worlds of education, business, the arts, and entertainment could join the historic movement.
Madam Elsheikh said that Birthright Africa was committed to increasing international travel by young people from the African diaspora. This was done to promote Ghana’s culture and the country’s investment potential, as well as to strengthen the link between the gateway to Africa and the diaspora around the world.
“This is a long-term partnership, and it starts with Ghana as the gateway,” she continued, “and establishing this partnership as a model for other countries and other governments to also understand that we are here to connect the diaspora, travel investment, trade, and a variety of other things to promote international tourism.”
Ghana will serve as the gateway to the partnership.
She went on to explain that the Birthright AFRICA program encouraged young people of African descent between the ages of 13 and 30 to travel in order to learn more about their cultural roots.
She said that it would offer a free educational experience and build an ecosystem in which all partners from the worlds of education, business, the arts, and entertainment could join the historic movement.
Madam Elsheikh said that Birthright Africa was committed to increasing international travel by young people from the African diaspora. This was done to promote Ghana’s culture and the country’s investment potential, as well as to strengthen the link between the gateway to Africa and the diaspora around the world.
Mr. Akwasi Agyeman, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), expressed gratitude to Birthright AFRICA and the team for the partnership, stating that it was another landmark in the tourism industry.
He said that the partnership would help build on the “Beyond the Return” vision, which includes building on the momentum of the “Year of Return” over the next ten years.
“Since the Year of Return, we have witnessed the return of a significant number of our own people to the continent. Therefore, having this partnership with Walla and the team at the Birthright AFRICA Project is very symbolic, in my opinion, because the ethos of what you are doing aligns with what the entire Beyond the Return conversation is, and Ghana has become a mainstay for that reconnection home. “