Let me start by wishing a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Productive New Year to the entire HACSA Family! Thank you for all you did for HACSA in 2020!
The festivities ushering in 2021 have rapidly turned to a mood of desperation as COVID-19 ravages our communities and the death rate continues to soar. However there is something you CAN DO to protect yourselves, your families and your communities! The wearing of medically approved masks in public places by all (which you can still cover with your unique African Print mask) could bring this virus to a grinding halt!
‘Hope’ is the theme of this first Members' Newsletter of the New Year! There is hope because we have the power to act, make change and make an impact. This was the spirit that gave birth to HACSA! We all speak about what governments are supposed to do and what we would do if we had the power. But given the opportunity do we really act on our lofty ideals? At the beginning of the year it is a good time to search our souls and ask ourselves if we’re living up to our ideals, values and beliefs. Would we really jump at it if we were given the opportunity to make the world a better place?
HACSA is a non-governmental, non-political, non-profit, civil society organisation created to give us the power and voice to make a change and create better outcomes for Africa and ‘Peoples of African Origin’ around the world! It creates an avenue for taking action and creating real impact outside of party politics and self-interest while prioritising environmental sustainability, women’s empowerment and technological innovation. We at HACSA recognise that achieving this can only be a team effort and the HACSA Sankofa Network was created to bring us together for impact and change. In unity our actions are that much more powerful and meaningful! We are continuously looking for ways to enrich the experience and participation of our members and are starting a HACSA Blog page where writers can submit articles and opinion pieces on issues that affect our communities to our editorial board for review and publication and members have the opportunity to comment and share ideas and feedback in the Sankofa Clubhouse. So it is my plea to you in this first month of the year to please pay your subscription for the HACSA Sankofa Network if you haven’t done so already and get involved by participating, volunteering, writing or helping to provide content, and/or encouraging new members to join the fold and making your much needed donations to keep our work going.
This year we look forward to the fruits of our hard work on ongoing projects with the virtual launch of our HACSA “Full Circle” Heritage Tour in association with Google Arts and Culture and the launch of our HACSA Heritage Documentary both partially sponsored under the Embassy of France in Ghana’s Sankofa Project. Following on from our hugely popular and successful first series of live webinars dealing with the crises of 2020, this year we are introducing a new series of live webinars with the theme: Bridging the Gap! We are delighted to announce that our first live webinar for the 2021 series is an interview with Ambassador Kwesi Quartey, the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union and one of the chief architects of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Don’t miss this opportunity to find out firsthand how this long awaited Agreement will change trade relations between African nations and use this opportunity to ask questions about how the treaty will function in practice! Please RSVP to receive your Zoom link. We are offering individuals and companies the opportunity to support or sponsor our new webinar series so please contact us if you would like to do so at donations@thehacsa.org.
The HACSA team are also looking forward to our first virtual HACSA Summit in July and HACSA’s 5th Anniversary Celebrations in November this year and will share more information on how you can participate in the coming months. Our network is growing and spreading around the globe and we are very excited to have you join us on this incredible journey of hope! Let us pray that 2021 is a better year for all humanity!
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