The Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Catherine Afeku, has urged Ghanaians to be good ambassadors of the country and Africa as a whole.

“Let us encourage the celebration of our continent as a people,” she said.

Mrs. Afeku, said this at the launch of the African Diaspora Home Coming Conference and Gala Night in Accra.

She said it was the duty of every citizen to let the world know “about our history and show-case what we are capable of doing”.

The Minister observed that it was important for Africans to tell the rest of the world all the good stories that reflected progress and hope.

“On our 60th birthday, we need to celebrate our rich culture and history,” she said.

Mrs. Afeku said the summit, would bring to the fore, “what we can do as a people when we put our energies together.”

She observed that Ghanaians, both home and abroad, had proved over the years through the exhibition of their various talents, that Ghana and Africa as a whole, was full of potential.

“Let us encourage the celebration of our continent as a people,” she said.

Ms Josephine Nkrumah, Chairperson of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), said the history of every nation was crucial to the progress and stability of that nation.

“Without history, we cannot understand our present parlance effectively,” she said.

Ms Nkrumah called on all stakeholders to ensure that history was not distorted, “because that could also distort our way forward as a people”.

Head, UNESCO Country Office, Tirso Dos Santos, said the home-coming served as a time of celebration and remembrance.

He said events such as Africans in the Diaspora, remembering their past, especially the trans-Atlantic slave trade, was necessary to prevent such events from ever taking place again.

Ambassador Johanna Svanikier, President of the Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa (HACSA), organizers of the conference, said the political history of Ghana, which had led to the present political dispensation, characterized by a stable political atmosphere, was worth sharing with others.

“Our political history which has culminated in our present democracy is of immense essence, and there is a lot to celebrate about it,” she said.

The African Diaspora Home Coming Conference and Gala Night, takes place in Accra on March 7th and 8th.

It forms part of activities to mark Ghana’s 60th Independence.