Prof. Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon Invited as Panelist for Ghana’s Diaspora Summit 2025

Prof. Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon has received a formal invitation from Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to serve as a panelist at the Diaspora Summit 2025, to be held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) from Friday 19th to Saturday 20th December 2025. The letter, dated 28th November 2025 and signed on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs by Amb. Khadija Iddrisu, Ag. Chief Director, invites him to speak on the high-level panel discussion titled “The Diaspora as the 17th Region: The Role of the Diaspora in the National Development Agenda.”

The Diaspora Summit 2025 is being organized under the auspices of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, in his capacity as African Union Champion for Reparations and Racial Justice. Themed “Resetting Ghana: The Diaspora as the 17th Region,” the summit convenes global Ghanaian and wider Pan-Afrikan diaspora communities alongside heads of state, senior policymakers, traditional leaders, private-sector actors, and development partners. The Ghana Embassy – Berlin, Germany+1

According to official communications from Ghana’s missions abroad, the overall objective of the summit is to institutionalize diaspora engagement as a strategic pillar of Ghana’s national development agenda. It seeks to reposition Ghana as a central hub for Pan-Afrikan cooperation by strengthening linkages between Ghana and its global diaspora in areas such as investment, innovation, cultural promotion, and governance. diasporasummitghana.org+1 In this context, the panel on “The Diaspora as the 17th Region” is expected to address how diaspora communities can move beyond remittances to become full partners in policy, planning, and long-term development.

The venue, the Accra International Conference Centre, is Ghana’s premier conference facility, strategically located near key national landmarks in Accra’s diplomatic and administrative corridor. Its history as a host for major Pan-Afrikan and international gatherings underscores the significance of staging the Diaspora Summit 2025—and its flagship plenary panels—at this site.

Recent commentary on the summit highlights that it will also spotlight reparations, dignity restoration, and historical accountability as central themes, aligning with broader continental calls for reparatory justice and renewed bonds between Africa and its dispersed children. The Herald ghana+1 Prof. Kambon’s participation is therefore situated at the intersection of scholarship, activism, and policy dialogue on reparations and Pan-Afrikan unity.

Prof. Ọbádélé Bakari Kambon is an Associate Professor at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, and a leading scholar of Afrikan languages and sbAyt nt Kmtyw ‘Studies of Black People.’ He is also the architect of Abibitumi, a major global Black social-education network, and has been centrally involved in repatriation and citizenship initiatives that have enabled large numbers of diaspora Abibifoɔ to obtain Ghanaian citizenship and re-establish life on the continent. CitiNewsroom.com+1

By inviting Prof. Kambon as a panelist, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally acknowledges not only his academic standing but also his long-standing practical work in reconnecting the diaspora to Ghana through language, culture, and concrete pathways of return. His contribution to the panel on “The Diaspora as the 17th Region” is poised to bring a historically grounded, Pan-Afrikan and unapologetically Black-centered perspective to national discussions on how Ghana and its global diaspora can chart a shared future in the interest of Abibitumi ‘Black Power’ and Abibifahodie ‘Black Liberation.’