00:00Let's make our ancestors proud, not just when we're here, but when we go back. The things that we do
00:22together, the things that we do individually, the things that we aspire to. Let's always keep in
00:28mind that millions and millions of us died for us to have the opportunities we have today.
00:33Let's not squander them. The inaugural Essence Full Circle Festival ushered in a brand new decade
00:39by coming back home, connecting U.S.-based cultural influencers and business executives
00:45with Ghanaian and regional leaders from across the diaspora. In celebration of the year of return,
00:52Essence designed this voyage to connect people to their roots through history,
00:58cuisine, music, fashion, nightlife, commerce, and so much more.
01:05The expectation was to learn, to better understand the culture, and to make a connection. Seeing the
01:19experience of what our ancestors went through was something that was quite moving.
01:24Thank you Ghana, thank you Afrocello organizers, we have a gang of folk from New York here,
01:28and we are all so happy to be here for the first time. We're really connecting, it's really inspiring,
01:33I really love it, I'm so happy to see a lot of cultures here. We were already community,
01:38we were already refreshed, we were already that, and what it created was a movement that became about us
01:43reowning our power. Before the British came here to build what we call the James Forts,
01:56there were indigenous people already here. What you see in these corridors around here,
02:01and some of the other forts were actually holding pens for our ancestors, male and female. So no matter
02:07where we come from in our walks of life, no matter where we come from in our geographical location, no
02:12matter where we come from in our level and state of consciousness, today we are here as one people.
02:17It was a profound experience for me as I stood in those dungeons and realized that I was standing on some of my DNA.
02:26Our greatest asset as a people locally, our cultures.
02:41A tree planting ceremony in a village, you go into a village and you plant a tree, it's a really, really wonderful experience.
02:47There's so much to learn about Africa, so much to learn about Ghana, so much to learn about ourselves that we were not taught.
02:57It's just really great to see how far Ghana has come and all of the new things that they've put in place.
03:03There's a boat ride, there's a pool, there's a bar, and all of that's here, it's beautiful.
03:10The Diaspora Office of the President warmly welcomes you.
03:13I have to begin by thanking warmly, the executive producer of the Essence Full Circle Festival, a quote I'll never cease to repeat.
03:21Don't care where you come from, as long as you are a black man, you are an African.
03:27The realization of the dream of a continent of confident, educated and skilled people.
03:32Africa is the richest continent by far, yes?
03:37I can't build Africa on my own.
03:40You definitely can't do it on your own.
03:42This is the first time I truly feel like there is a buzz being created where lots of African-American, African-Australian, the list continued,
03:49descendants of this continent are truly claiming it, recognizing it, and happy to be back.
03:55The significance of this year is personally really inspiring and empowering.
04:01Everyone coming back here and basically having the world look back on Ghana is, number one,
04:07it's lifting off to a new stage and it's creating a new level of quality for our country.
04:12So it's extremely exciting to be part of this.
04:14The group ended the night in a New Year's Eve celebration unlike any other,
04:20partying straight through the night into a sunrise breakfast at Lavati Beach.
04:41This is our day of service to figure out how we can best serve you.
04:45Hopefully we can bring kids here every year that can go back and share that experience with others.
04:50Achieve the goals and the dreams that you want to do.
04:53If that's if you want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a soldier, a teacher, a fashion designer, you can become that.
05:01I hope that everyone sort of takes it upon themselves to become a disciple for the movement and to inspire others to visit the continent.
05:24That's it.
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