Roots Festival
Website:
www.rootsgambia.gm
Date: 30th May to 7 June, 2010
Introduction:
 The biannual Roots International Festival
of 2010 (formerly Homecoming) will be the 10th to be held in Gambia (the first held in May 1996). It commemorates the forced
enslavement and shipment of millions of Africans to the Americas and
the Caribbean region. Africans and friends of Africa from the Diaspora
are invited to attend and participate in the festival. It provides opportunities for atonement and
reconciliation for those whose ancestors were engaged in slavery and
the descendants of Africans forced into
slavery. Its rich programme of events includes cultural
performances from different ethnic groups, tours to historic sites
such as Juffure &
James Island, dance & drum workshops, carnival
parades, symposia, trade fairs, traditional sporting events and
religious services.
The Roots Secretariat:
The
secretariat was created to facilitate, integrate and to culturally
enrich Gambians and Pan Africans who travel from the Diaspora, to The
Gambia exclusively, to reaffirm and reconnect with their Roots
respectively. Roots Experiences, The main festival, concerts,
merchandise and other Pan African Edutainment programmes are to be
implemented by the secretariat throughout the year.
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Culture
& Traditions
Festivals
National Holidays
(Dates)
Contact Details:
National
Museum Premises
Independence Drive
Banjul, The Gambia
Tel: 4227980
4226244
4227461
Fax: 4227461
Email:
rootsthegambia@yahoo.com
Background:
The festival has
its origins in the publication of Alex Haley's novel called
'Roots' which was followed by the TV series. In the wake of the
interest generated by publication the Government of The Gambia
brought together a team of officials that visited the USA in
order to advance The Gambia as an idyllic tourist destination
for tourists from the African Diaspora. As a result of these
efforts visitors from America came to the country in force but
the success of the initiative was limited due to The Gambia's
limited infrastructural resources and competition from other
destinations.
Since 1994 the Government initiated the Roots Festival with
the aim "To bring together Africans and the people of African
descent to commemorate the forced enslavement of Africans in the
Atlantic Slave Trade system and to celebrate the richness and
diversity of Gambian and African culture as a prelude to the
establishment of a Diaspora Heritage Centre at Juffureh".
The festival which originally began as an annual event is now
held biannually.
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