The week long virtual conference for celebration of KWANZAA taking place from the 26th of December 2020 to the 1st of January 2021 has commenced with superlative contributions from experts who are leading the discussions from different parts of the world.
KWANZAA is an African American and pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. It is based on African first harvest celebrations organized around five fundamental kinds of activities which are- Gathering of the people; special reverence for the creator and creation; commemoration of the past; re-commitment to the highest cultural values; and celebration of the Good.
The International Week long Global African Kwanzaa celebration started on the 26th of December 2020 ,has been held for 2 days simultaneously now via zoom where it will continue till the 7th day, on the same time which is 2pm est USA East, 7pm for the folks in Europe, and 10pm for East Africa, while featuring different speakers and panelist on the pillars of KWANZAA philosophy at the visual conference.
The discussions on the first day of the KWANZAA Celebration was on UMOJA the Swahili word that embodies the spirit of unity, which Odilia A Okongo championed the discussion for the day from Europe while Hannibal El and Kim Poole the founder of Teaching Artist Institute TAI brought in the American dimension to the discourse. Magomamoto performers the Tanzania Art Tank winners entertained the visual guests with a rendition of their favourite acts.
The leading discussion point for the second day of the KWANZAA was held on the premise of KUJICHAGULIA, the Second Principle of Kwanzaa, which means ‘Self-Determination’ and alliterates to us “ to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.’ These are questions of history and culture, not simply queries or questions of personal identity. They are questions of personal identity. More profoundly, they are questions of collective identity, based and borne out in historical and cultural practice. And the essential quality of that practice must be the quality of self-determination.
Mariam Mwinyinmbegu of Tanzanian ancestry whose mother tongue is swahili led the discussion from Netherlands in Europe while King Teasdell, Drummer (Libation) & Haki Ammi, Success Scholar Pan Africanism in 21st Century enjoined themselves to the profound discourse from America.
More prolific individuals are expected to grace the virtual event and lead discussions on the 7 principles of Kwanzaa, while exotic artists across the continent will be present to provide mental stimulating entertainment to drive the vision of the celebration home to its guests and participants for the remaining 5 days.
The KWANZAA Celebration that is being piloted by international African School and Teaching Africa Institute(TAI) with SHEROES , JAHKENTE and others as resource partners presents an opportunity for a soul search hinged on the unification of the individual with the whole (Mama Africa) and is aimed at extrapolating Afrocentricism in a collective showcase of the true identity of our Africanness.
We in All Africa Media Network highly commend TAI and its associates for renewing the vibe for our communal re- engagement of a pivotal African philosophy of KWANZAA in a bid to reaffirm and unify Africans at home and in the Diaspora to a common cultural interpretation of African values.
The truth of the KWANZAA Celebration is self evident with the knowledge and experiences it offers to participants, as well as the invitation it lends to Africans and all the peoples of African descent to a common knowledge hinged on an African intellectualism.
The Author
Cookey Iwuoha is a passionate creative writer, poet and published author. He is the publisher of Nigerian Eye Newspaper , a Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI) Alumni of Barrack Obama Foundation, and has participated in other capacity development programs like United Nation Foundation’s Virtual Reporting Fellowship, Centre for Human Rights Certificate on African Human Right System and Amnesty International’s Freedom of Expression Certificate program among others.
