IJFTC Bringing People Together.

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WJFTC Community Projects

Slave River

Slave River Park was one of the largest slave markets.

Makandal Daaga

The Makandal Daaga Library and Museum.

Princess Town

Princess Town, also known as ‘Prince’s Town’.

Moore Town

The conquest of Jamaica by the English in 1655.

Agona-Ashanti

Agona-Ashanti occupies a very great place.

Santa Maria

Afromexican native dance, Danza de los Diablo.

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Speakers
May 21 to 26, 2024

International Junkanoo Festival of Tourism and Culture, 2024

Speakers from various industries and Geographical locations will greatly impact the IJFCT.

Speakers

Cultural Exchange and Education

As part of the IJFTC’s commitment to cultural exchange and education a diverse variety of international speakers, will address a range of cultural topics. These speaking engagements aim to foster a cross-cultural understanding and appreciation, empowering participants to carry the spirit of Africa beyond the festival grounds and into their lives. Additionally, there will be informative talks and seminars on African history, traditions, and sustainable tourism.

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Hon. Stephen Asamoah Boateng
Hon. Stephen Asamoah Boateng
Hon. Stephen Asamoah Boateng is a Ghanaian politician and the newly appointed Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs. He was the former Director-General of the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA). He was also a former member of parliament for the Mfantsiman West constituency of the Central region of Ghana and also the former Minister for Local Government Rural Development and Environment, Tourism, and Diaspora Relations.

Stephen Asamoah Boateng holds a Degree from the University of Ghana and a master’s in Business Administration from the Henley Management College Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. While studying for his Masters’s, he worked as a Marketing Consultant at the American Medical Systems (AMS) of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and a Housing Officer at the Royal Borough of Kensington, Chelsea. He was a public servant as a store assistant at the Ghana Medical Stores in Kumasi.

He started out as a political activist and then became the president of the Madina Students Union and the secretary of the Central Committee of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) from 1979 to 1982.

Stephen Asamoah Boateng is a former member of parliament for the Mfantseman Constituency. He won the parliament seat in the year 2004 after he contested in the general elections.

Dr. Kirt Henry
Dr. Kirt Henry

Dr. Kirt Henry is a Jamaican-born thinker, researcher, writer, and advocate of CULTURE whose academic interests explore the intersections between dress, identity, spirituality, sexuality, and performance within the African diaspora. In particular, my doctoral study engages a conversation on the materiality and performativity of dressed bodies in ritual spaces of one of Jamaica’s indigenous 19th-century religions – Revivalism. I am currently working on my book manuscript entitled, A Me Dis!: Gender, Identity and Performance in Revivalism.

As a practicing academic, He lectures at The UWI, Mona in subject matters engaging African Religious Retentions in the Caribbean, Caribbean Fashion, and Material Culture and Identity in the Caribbean. He is passionate about using heritage, culture, and history as subject categories for the empowerment of marginalized peoples within society.

Dr. Henry is the Prime Minister’s National Youth Awardee for Excellence in the category of Academics and also an author in the British Academy’s Writing Programme and a curatorial fellow in the Afro-Caribbean Art program in New York City.

Prof. Kimani Nehusi
Henry Antoine

Henry Antoine, President of the World Carnival Commission, was involved in taking the Trini-style Carnival global. He is also the Chief of the Rada Community in Belmont, a community from which emerged several artists, such as pan man Dudley Smith and calypsonian Seadley “Penquin” Joseph.

Henry Antoine moved to Toronto from Trinidad and Tobago in 1968, he tells the story of an important musical moment for Carnivals which led to the birth of soca. Soca is an infectious beat, with the rhythm to move your soul and Henry was a Congas player. His love for good music made him a manager for Lord Shorty in 1972.

Prof. Kimani Nehusi
Alisa Osei-Asamoah
Alisa Osei-Asamoah is the president of the Tour Operator’s Union of Ghana (TOUGHA). The purpose is to promote domestic tourism and sustain tour operators’ businesses. The Ghana Tourism Authority GTA recognizes TOUGHA and it is also a member of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) and above all affiliated to other continental and global tourism organizations.

TOUGHA as an organization has achieved a lot under the leadership of Mrs. Alisa Osei–Asamoah, she has also played an important role in the implementation of Government initiatives on tourism eg;  #ExperienceGhana and #ShareGhana, etc., which will let citizens and diasporans see the beautiful lands, rhythms and culture of Ghana.

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Prof. Kimani Nehusi
Rosemary Sadlier
Rosemary Sadlier was the president of the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS) from 1993 to 2015. As president, she contributed to the recognition of Black history through education, research and outreach programs. Rosemary’s pressure was central to the Canadian government’s 1995 decision to make the celebration of Black History Month a national annual event.

Rosemary was born and raised in Toronto, and she has degrees in teaching and social work. Her roots in Canada reach back to pre-Confederation: her mother’s family can be traced to 1840, while her father’s ancestors arrived in New Brunswick in 1793.

Along with the 1995 establishment of National Black History Month, in that same year, Sadlier also initiated the formal celebration of August 1st as Emancipation Day, which is still being sought nationally. For Rosemary, such events have helped and will continue to help Canadian students and teachers recognize Black people’s contributions to Canada. Rosemary has presented nationally and internationally – including to the United Nations – on the subjects of Black Canadian history, curricula, and anti-racism. She has also researched and written prolifically about Black history and Black Canadian history.

Rosemary has received several honours and awards including the Order of Ontario, the William Peyton Hubbard Race Relations Award, and Women for PACE Award, the Black Links Award, the Planet Africa Marcus Garvey Award and the Harry Jerome Award. Most recently, she was awarded the Lifetime Achiever Award from the International Women Achievers’ Awards.

Prof. Kimani Nehusi
Rosemary Sadlier
Shirley Shillingford has been a longtime community leader as the president of the Caribbean-American Carnival Association of Boston for the past 33 years. When she’s not busy planning the next parade, she runs a food pantry in Mattapan and organizes an annual senior citizens’ ball, cooking up a full Jamaican feast of coconut shrimp, brisket, and rice and peas.

“Yeah, the works,” Shillingford said, speaking of her cooking. “I feel that seniors have done their work in society already, and so the only thing we can do is honour them and make them feel special.”

On Monday, Shillingford was among 50 people honoured at the Boston Caribbean American Association’s inaugural Caribbean of the Commonwealth Breakfast for their contributions to the state’s Caribbean community.

Massachusetts is home to one of the largest Caribbean communities in the country, which includes more than 127,000 Boston residents, according to 2020 US Census data.

Prof. Kimani Nehusi
Hannatu Musa Musawa
Hannatu Musa Musawa is a Nigerian lawyer, politician, and author, currently the Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy in Nigeria. She is from Katsina State in the northern part of Nigeria and belongs to the Hausa-Fulani ethnic group.
Musa has had a varied and successful career in different fields.

She has worked as a lawyer in private companies, providing legal counsel and representation in various matters. She has also specialized in marine affairs and oil & gas law, demonstrating her competence in these challenging areas.

She was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, after serving as his Special Adviser on Culture and Entertainment Economy. She oversees the promotion and development of the creative sector in Nigeria, as well as the preservation and display of the country’s cultural heritage.

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The JUNKANOO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL…

May 21-26, 2024

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