By Joycelyn Tseyiboe Ama
Veteran journalist and member of the organising committee of the Pan-African Progressive Front (PPF), Kwesi Pratt Jr., has called on Ghanaians to actively participate in the renewed Pan-African movement as the country prepares to host the 80th anniversary of the historic 5th Pan-African Congress.
Speaking at a press briefing at the International Press Centre in Accra on October 7, 2025, Mr Pratt said the upcoming international conference would serve as a platform to unite Africans and their diaspora in advancing the continent’s political and economic agenda.
“Mobilise the world. We are not in a position to influence you, mobilise the world. What we are doing is just the beginning,” he said.
“We hope that this modest effort of ours will rekindle the spirit of revival, the struggle for freedom, and the struggle against poverty. In the not-too-distant future, Africa will rise once again, take control of its resources, and unite as one. Together, Africans will work with people across the globe to build a more prosperous future for all.”
The conference, themed “From Historical Memory to Economic and Political Justice – Uniting Pan-African Progressive Forces,” is expected to bring together delegates from over 50 countries across Africa and the Caribbean. Participants will include representatives from political parties, trade unions, student and women’s movements, and peasant organisations.
Several prominent African scholars and activists have been invited, including Comrade Irvin Jim, General Secretary of the Metal Workers Union of South Africa; Professor Akua Britwum, a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast and an expert in gender and trade unionism; Dr. Gamal Nasser Adam, Chairperson of Ghana’s National Media Commission; Joe Ajaero, General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress; and the immediate past Vice-President of the Islamic University of Ghana.
President John Dramani Mahama, who also serves as the African Union Chairperson on Reparations, has been praised for continuing the work of Africa’s founding fathers such as Modibo Keita, Sekou Touré and Patrice Lumumba. Organisers are also working to secure the participation of President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso, representing the Alliance of Sahel States.
Mr. Pratt described the conference as an opportunity for Africans to reclaim their agency in a global system that has long constrained their aspirations for freedom and development. He highlighted ongoing struggles such as debt burdens, resource exploitation and neocolonial economic structures as key issues that the Pan-African movement must continue to confront.
The event is expected to serve as a rallying point for a renewed Pan-African agenda focused on justice, unity and self-determination.
