“Yes! Almost every great thing starts with a dialogue, post covid; we see a lot of Latino countries or South American countries getting closer to Ghana because as they come in and notice that it is a peaceful country and they like the environment, they go back and spread the news that Ghana is a beautiful place to come.”- Hon. Mark Okraku Mantey; Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Like the Ministers and representatives from the various Ghanaian institutions present at the Latin America Studies Association (LASA) Congress, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Hon. Mark Okraku Mantey, has delighted to share the significance of the first Africa LASA congress held in Ghana. He also believes it was no accident that the association chose Ghana as its first African host nation for the congress. To him, initiatives like Year of Return, Beyond the Return and December in Gh have had a vital influence on that decision. The excellent news about Ghana’s peaceful and beautiful environment made it the most appropriate tourist destination.
Also supporting the decision to bring the LASA congress to Ghana was the Colombian Embassy in Ghana. The Ambassador of Colombia to Ghana, H.E Daniel Garces Carabali, could not hide his excitement during the opening ceremony as he believes this is not only meaningful to the Latin American and African Continents but momentous to him and his office as the first Colombian Ambassador to Ghana with African descent. He was delighted for Ghanaians at the event to experience the beautiful culture of his homeland through an energetic performance from the Colombian Cultural troop Canalón de Timbiquí and Colombians experiencing the warmth and hospitality of Ghanaians.
“I am happy. We are achieving important results in the work and mandate our government has given us ambassadors, especially in Africa. Hopefully, we can effectively implement the African plan incorporated into our national development plan.” The Ambassador stated.
Further reiterating the importance of the conference to the University of Ghana and Ghana as a host nation, Prof. Dan Ofori, Provost for the College of Humanities, University of Ghana, insights that
“Our business is teaching and research, and conferences provide an avenue to bring those two together; when you attend a conference to come to present a paper, your network, you meet academics, you share ideas and end up writing papers and putting proposals across that attracts funding that can help and feed into your teaching and also feed into your research.
A conference is a big thing, and typically, countries vie for the right to be able to hold a conference. it is a huge opportunity for us to sell the university, our programs and the country because when people come, aside from the heavy academic discussions, you get to meet different people in person.” He said.
In hopes that the successful four-day LASA congress in Ghana becomes a stepping stone to more LASA congresses in Africa, Prof. Aníbil Pérez- Línan of the University of Notre Dame emphasized during the Closing ceremony that “The hope is that this conference will not be remembered as the LASA Africa Congress, but I hope that this conference will be remembered as the first LASA Africa Congress.”
Written by Matilda Mensah Marfo
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