rewrite this title UK Parliament To Host Heritage And Cultural Society Of Africa’s 2025 Sankofa Summit, President Of Ghana & Actor Hugh Quarshie Among Headliners

EXCLUSIVE: The 2025 edition of the Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa’s (HACSA) Sankofa Summit will take place in London, at the UK Parliament, with headline guests including President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana and veteran actor Hugh Quarshie. 

This year’s summit, the first held in London, will run from June 19th to 20th. Alongside President Mahama and Quarshie, other guests and speakers set for the summit include Diane Abbott, actor Clarke Peters, Cartier Vice President Bijou Abiola, and Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, UK MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, who will open the event. 

The overall theme will be “Honouring the Past, Empowering the Present, Inspiring the Future” with a focus on spotlighting Africa’s burgeoning youth population. Key discussion points across the summit will include inter-generational learning, leveraging the creative economy for job creation, technology-enabled capacity building, and strategies for uniting Africans on the continent and in the diaspora to expand opportunities in finance, trade, and employment. 

Alongside the summit, a lunch will be held on June 20 to honor legendary artist and HACSA patron James Barnor, who will also participate in a fireside chat with Quarshie.

The Sankofa Summit is the HACSA’s flagship event. The Sankofa Summit is organised in collaboration with UNESCO, the Office of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President of Ghana, headed by Kofi Okyere-Darko, and the HACSA executive steering committee.

The HACSA is a non-profit NGO headquartered in Ghana. Some of the organization’s work includes preserving and promoting African heritage and culture across the globe and connecting investors and people of African descent in the diaspora with each other and the African continent through the HACSA Sankofa Network. 

HACSA patrons include South African actor, director, and playwright, Dr.John Kani, British-Ghanaian writer, director, and actress Adjoa Andoh, American writer, musician, and award-winning chef Alexander Smalls, and British-Nigerian actor and entrepreneur Jimmy Akingbola.

Dicussing this year’s event, Johanna Odonkor Svanikier, Founder and CEO of HACSA Foundation, said: “Empowering Africa’s youth is not just an investment in our future – it is a necessity for the present. By equipping young people, especially girls, with cutting-edge digital and life skills, we are building a generation of leaders, innovators, and changemakers who can shape a prosperous and inclusive Africa. I look forward to welcoming our esteemed guests to London.”

Full Speaker/Guest List