SANKOFA NEWS
HACSA's Member-Only Newsletter

March 2021


FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Members,

In March we celebrate women and their immense achievements and contributions to their families and communities. This month we celebrate two amazing women! Our VIP guest for our March Live Webinar Interview and Q&A is no other than HACSA-UK Advisory Board Member, Ms.(Dr.) Samantha Tross, the first woman Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in the UK!  I have been in awe of what this amazing sister has achieved since I first met her at the HACSA Summit 2019. She is originally from Guyana and advises HACSA on how to bridge the gap with our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean and South America. Guyana is considered part of the Anglophone Caribbean and the only country in South America in which English is the official language. See below to register.

HACSA-Francophone has also been busy ensuring that Women’s Day and Women’s Month are celebrated in style!  With the kind sponsorship of Dr. Christine Diané, our HACSA Francophone Representative, a crew was sent out to film an interview with Mme Denise Epoté, a media icon from the Francophone African Diaspora! Mme Epoté is an anchor at TV5 Monde. In 2014, she was ranked among the hundred most influential figures on the continent in the New African and Forbes Africa rankings. I met Mme. Epoté when I was ambassador in Paris where at events sometimes we were the only African women in the room. I admired her for her authentic style and quiet dignity. Aïssatou Baldé was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet her role model for the first time and did a terrific job interviewing her.

The world has been in a frenzy about the interview of the Duchess of Sussex by Oprah Winfrey and many seek clarity about the contentious issues it raises. The importance of this interview is that it has thrown a spotlight on institutional racism, a critical issue which we at HACSA have a mission to eliminate. Our work continues to highlight the fact that the origins of global institutional racism lie in the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism. We believe these issues need to be dealt with empathetically and debated in an open and honest way. We were recently invited by the diversity department of Värde Partners, a leading global alternative investment firm to make a presentation to commemorate Black History Month. We received excellent feedback after the presentation and a donation from Värde. We welcome invitations to present our message of Sankofa - 'learn from the past' - to other institutions that require education about diversity, inclusion and systemic racism.

I am delighted to announce that registration for the HACSA Sankofa Virtual Summit 2021 is now open! We have deliberately kept the fee low to encourage registration from students and young people but you can give an additional DONATION if you can afford it and spread the word amongst your friends and family. See below to register for what promises to be a very stimulating and exciting event!

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
With Denise Epoté
On 8th March the world celebrated International Women's Day and HACSA Francophone celebrated the day with a video clip of an exclusive fireside chat with Denise Epoté, a Cameroonian Journalist who is Head of Africa Reporting, for the French Television Network, TV5 Monde. In this interview, Ms Epoté shares stories about her heritage and career and reflects on the status of women across Africa and in the Diaspora. You can find snippets of this interview on our social media pages and the full interview on our website!
Watch!

STOP PRESS!

The focus of the next episode of our Live Webinar Series 2021, under the theme 'Bridging the Gap,' is celebrating women and their contribution to society. For 'International Women's Month', the HACSA Foundation is delighted to bring you a live interview and Q&A with HACSA-UK Advisory Council member, Samantha Tross, the first black female consultant orthopaedic surgeon in the UK. She will discuss how she broke the glass ceiling in her field of medicine.
Title: Blazing a Trail for Diaspora Women
Date: Saturday, 27th March, 2021
Time: 9:00AM PT | 12:00PM ET 
4:00PM GMT | 5:00PM CET
Participation is for members and by invitation only and all participants are required to register using the link below. If you are not yet a member of the HACSA Sankofa Network, please JOIN to support the important work we do. DONATIONS are also welcome. If you would like to submit questions for Samantha Tross in advance, please send them to info@thehacsa.org.
Register!

WEBINARS
An Interview with Ambassador Kwesi Quartey:
Breaking down the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement

HACSA launched a new series of Webinars at the beginning of the year, under the theme 'Bridging the Gap.' This new interview-style series, invites VIP guests from the Diaspora to talk about their lives, their careers and their expertise. Each conversation offers unique perspectives on how to forge links and strengthen relationships between Africa and the diaspora. In this first episode, we had the privilege of interviewing the African Union Deputy Chairperson, Ambassador Kwesi Quartey. He discussed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and its benefits for both Africans on the continent and in the diaspora. You can find the full interview on our website.
Watch!
REGISTRATION OPEN!

HACSA Sankofa Virtual Summit 2021

We are delighted to announce that the HACSA Sankofa Virtual Summit registration is now open! HACSA Summits reunite the African diaspora and celebrate the rich history, heritage and culture of Africa and peoples of African descent. They are a unique opportunity for networking with the global diaspora and learning more about Africa. The Summits bring together heads of state, opinion leaders, practitioners, academics, students, creatives, enthusiasts and participants from Africa and the diaspora. This year, the HACSA Sankofa Summit is virtual and therefore more accessible. Make sure you tell all your family and friends who couldn't make it to Ghana in 2019 to register! We will have exciting keynote speakers, panel discussions, exhibitions, films, music, virtual heritage tours and much more. Come and join us for a virtual networking experience of a lifetime!
Register Here!
THROWBACK
This month's throwback is to the HACSA Diaspora Homecoming Summit 2017, which commemorated the 60th Anniversary of Ghana’s independence. We had an incredible turn out for the Summit including Prof. Atukwei Okai and Nana Kwaku Mensah, both of blessed memory who were powerful inspirations and embodied the theme of the conference: “The Spirit of ‘57”. They both passed away the following year but their legacy lives on and their spirit continues to shine a light and a path for HACSA!

NEWS FROM THE HACSA SANKOFA NETWORK
EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT!

The HACSA team wishes to congratulate our patron, Mr James Barnor on his retrospective exhibition that will open at the Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London, U.K. this May! Mr Barnor has an expansive archive of over 40,000 photographs, capturing pre-independence Ghana and black communities within the UK in the 50s and 60s. He hopes that documenting his work will make it more useful in the future. The retrospective exhibition of James Barnor is set to open on the 19th of May 2021.

RECIPE

Our new series of recipes showcase the versatility of coconut as an ingredient in healthy cooking. Coconuts are highly nutritious, rich in fibre and packed with essential vitamins and minerals. Rice and Peas is a signature dish in the Caribbean, which is very similar to a West African dish called 'Waakye.'

Watch!

DID YOU KNOW?

Mother's Day was celebrated in the U.K. this year on the 14th of March. In honour of all mothers, we highlight this image painted by 10 year old Anujath Sindhu Vinaylal titled ‘My Mother and other Mothers in the Neighbourhood.’ It has risen to prominence as it was recently made the cover of the Government of Kerala’s Gender Budget for 2020-2021. It is reported that Vinaylal drew this picture after his father made remarks about his mother that "she is just a housewife, she doesn't work." The painting captures the diverse roles played by both his mother and other women in his neighbourhood, working hard to support their families and their communities.

EDUCATIONAL TOOLS

The International Women's Day team have put together various resources to help celebrate and educate people on the importance of gender equality. They have created downloadable resources for teachers and a presentation-workshop on recognising and challenging biases in the workplace as part of their 'Lean In' project.