The Door of Return is an emblem of African Renaissance and is a pan-African initiative that seeks to launch a new era of cooperation between Africa and its diaspora in the 21st century.[1] The initiative is Chaired by the Hon. Timothy E. McPherson Jr., Minister of Finance for the Accompong Maroons in Jamaica, and is being spearheaded across Africa in cooperation with Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe[2] as part of the United Nations's International Decade for People of African Descent.[3] The name is a reference to the "Door of No Return", a monument commemorating the transatlantic slave trade.
On 24 August 2017, Nigeria erected the first symbolic Door of Return monument as part of the Diaspora Festival in Badagry.[4][5] The symbolic monument was unveiled under the auspices of the Hon. Abike Dabiri, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs.[6] A permanent monument was billed to be unveiled in August 2018, which is when Accompong will also unveil its permanent monument.[1]
The Badagry Door of Return Experience is a cultural event commemorating the homecoming of diasporic Africans who are descendants of African ancestors who were taken away as slaves to the Americas over the course of some 400 years during the trans-Atlantic enslavement of African peoples.[7] The fourth edition of the commemorative event was held in October 2023.[8][9]
The Door of Return initiative is expected to advance African economic development in areas of tourism, infrastructure and renewable energy. The erection of Door of Return Monuments are intended to promote inter-continental travel and act as a symbol of Africa’s openness to the Diaspora.[2]
See also
- African Americans in Africa
- Back-to-Africa movement
- Diaspora tourism
- Genealogy tourism (Africa)
- Return to roots
- Right of return (Ghana)
- Year of Return, Ghana 2019
References
- ^ a b Hibbert, Kimberley (7 January 2017). "'Door of Return' monument to be erected in Accompong Town". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ a b Onen, Sunday (31 March 2017). "AFRICA: 4 Nations sign up On Door of Return with Accompong, Jamaica to drive Tourism with Diaspora - ATQ News". Atqnews.com. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ Olufowobi, Kamil (27 May 2017), "Opinion: The 'door of return' is open for people of African descent", CNN.
- ^ "Diaspora Festival Badagry". UNESCO. 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ Okogba, Emmanuel (14 June 2017). "Lagos to open 'Door of Return' to Africans during Diaspora Festival in Badagry". Vanguardngr.com. Vanguard News. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ Ajeluorou, Anote (9 November 2016). "Abike Dabiri-Erewa, others endorse Badagry Diaspora Festival, Door-of-Return ceremony". Guardian.ng. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ Arasli, Huseyin; Abdullahi, Maryam; Gunay, Tugrul (2021-05-31). "Social Media as a Destination Marketing Tool for a Sustainable Heritage Festival in Nigeria: A Moderated Mediation Study". Sustainability. 13 (11): 6191. doi:10.3390/su13116191. hdl:11250/2982886. ISSN 2071-1050.
- ^ "BADAGRY HOSTS FOURTH EDITION OF DOOR OF RETURN". Lagos State Government. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "BADAGRY DOOR OF RETURN: SET TO BECOME ONE OF THE BIGGEST TOURISM EVENTS IN NIGERIA". Nigerians in Diaspora Commission. Retrieved 2023-10-21.