Black History Festival comes to Columbus on Feb. 18
Cultures will connect at the Black History Festival, where experts in trade, business, technology, media arts, culture, and governance in the U.S. and Africa will come together Feb. 15-18 at the Renaissance Downtown Columbus Hotel.
The four-day event will feature networking opportunities, speakers and panels, live performances and more. The first three days are free to the public with online registration at blackhistoryfestivals.com.
The Black History Festival is an effort to “connect Africa and its diaspora to the rest of the world,” according to Stephen Selasie Asuo, the Ghanaian founder of the festival and president of the Bureau for International Development Exchanges and Commerce (BIDEC).
The first edition of the Black History Festival was held in 2022 in Washington,
D.C., in collaboration with the African Union with support from the African Affairs Bureau of the Department of State, Asuo said.
“We were looking at how the continent could benefit economically, culturally and even professionally from its diaspora across the world,” he continued.
“We believe that when we celebrate the impact of people of African descent, it will go a long way to encourage our bilateral partners to see us as credible partners in global development and at the same time, inspire a generation to believe in themselves and believe that they can take the continent’s destiny into their own hands.”
More than a dozen speakers have been confirmed for the festival, including the Honorable Yaw Osafo-maafo, senior presidential advisor to the administration of Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-addo, and a founding deputy
chairman of the Ghana Stock Exchange. Leaders in education, communications, entrepreneurship and innovation, tourism and other industries also are scheduled to speak.
Moderators at the festival will include entrepreneur and media personality Brandon Andrews, co-founder of Gauge, an Ai-driven mobile market research company. As a senior consultant at Values Partnerships, he heads the company’s work on technology and entrepreneurship, which includes leading a nationwide casting tour focused on bringing more diverse ideas and voices to ABC’S “Shark Tank.”
Other highlights of the Black History Festival will include local excursions, a Made in Africa Expo and business-tobusiness (B2B) sessions. Details about these events, as well as the live performances, will be available closer to the festival date.
“This is a novel opportunity to strengthen existing ties between (the U.S. and African Union member states) and inspire Black youth to build bridges and align interests,” Asuo said.
“We also want to create a platform for active recognition of critical roles that have been played by people of African descent. Looking at African Americans ... across the world, (they) have made so much impact in global history.”
bpaschal@dispatch.com