#003 CASE STUDY

TITLE : Ghana – A Nation in Retrospective

This post is a short reflection on the collaboration between the Victoria & Albert Museum & THE ADV_.

Ghana – A Nation in Retrospective Led by Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana was the first African country to gain independence after the colonial rule in 1957. Take a look retrospectively at a nation that over the last 60 years has shaped a modern vision, and established Ghanaians as trend-setting ‘Afropolitans’.

> How can Ghana reignite African unity?
> What role can the diaspora play in Africa’s development?

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+ THE INVITATION

On 4th August 2017 the Victoria & Albert Museum opened its doors to the future of Ghana with a provocation, the Ashanti Goldweights and Regalia from the Wolseley invasion of Kumasi in 1874.

For one night, audiences were asked to commemorate, evaluate and speculate on Ghana’s 60th year of sovereignty from British colonialism. This was not a night of historical exploration but an honest update on how far Ghana has come and clarity on where it is going.

Join us to review your history, heritage, culture and future alongside our contributors. <read more>

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+ THE CHALLENGE

It’s common for events of this nature to gravitate towards an investigation of colonial history - as opposed to future building. Without a doubt bleak moments in the narrative of the Nation Ghana and its populous are still recent yet blueprints t a brighter and more robust future have been written. What remains unknown is the declaration of the mission statement of Africa seemingly led by Ghanaians.

What are the individual requirements, communal sacrifices and collective gains of the illusive Uniomm of African States?

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+ THE OBJECTIVE

Assuming the role of change-making establishment THE ADV_ was invited to provide a space for strategic empathy from civil servants to students to destabilise Africa systematically; socially, politically and culturally continental as well as locally. This is to forecast the vulnerabilities and potential strategies that are active or evolving to prevent the rise of the Union of African States (U.A.S) as a superpower.

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+ prescribed scenarios & why

Subtitled as ‘Undoing Africa’ THE ADV_ staged a series of immersive forums accommodating 75+ on-site participants tasked to destabilise the idea and infrastructure of the hypothetically realised outcome of a Union of African States (U.A.S) based on Kwame Nkrumah’s 1963 address ‘We Must Unite Now or Perish‘ at the Organisation of African Unity Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

With the presence of academics and members of Ghana’s government, our recommended scenarios to support a diverse invested audience/participants in this event were :

> [ State Affairs ] — Nationalism / Individual Aspirations / Duty
> [ Entitled ] — Alternative Currencies / Value & Profit / Dependency

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+ OUR FINDINGS

> The disruption of foreign inclusivity/ collaboration in African agendas.
> Continental competitiveness in being first.
> Disassociated communities from national agendas.

We are committed to highlighting the reoccurring issues that continue to drive a division between people/communities that hinder progress. In this case, we found that the pursuit of unity can only founded on exclusive membership in its early stages. The next stage is often based on defining visions and representations of success based on the local vernacular not international. Lastly, the redefining of legacy terms of relationships in commerce, politics, and culture - this means reestablishing a narrative or reference that is completely self-serving for generational focus.

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+ Read more

LINK : Ghana – A Nation in Retrospective
LINK : THE ADV_ Scenarios 
LINK : Modern Ghana
LINK : UNESCO - International Decade for People of African Descent 2015 - 2024

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