“Sustainable development cannot be achieved without reparatory justice.”
That’s the message from Executive Chair of the Emancipation Support Committee, Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada.
She was speaking on Sunday at the launch of the 2025 Pan-African Festival TT – which commemorates Emancipation and the observation of African Liberation Day.
The theme of the 2025 Pan-African Festival TT is ‘Shaping Sustainable Futures Through Reparatory Justice’ and according to Ms. Uzoma-Wadada, while a part of the festival entails celebration, it goes much deeper than that.
“We use the festival to address all of the different aspects of our development, and it has been dubbed the greatest celebration of Africa outside of Africa. And I want us to understand the festival is a continuation of our work; it is not the only thing that we do. It continues the work – it’s our flagship project because it gathers the most attention and brings together masses of people, but we continue to work all through the year.”
The featured speaker at the launch was Chairperson of the Trinidad and Tobago National Committee on Reparations, Dr. Claudius Fergus. His presentation was delivered under the theme ‘The African Renaissance, Reparations and Sustainable Development.’
“The first issue I believe they should address is the repayment of the 150 million gold francs ransom with interest exacted from the Haitian people. There are many more examples I can mention, but I dare to say that CARICOM’s greatest achievement to date has been the recommitment of the African Union to the demand for reparation, and not only for the continent but as big sister to the global reparation movement, together we will achieve the final victory we seek.”
Ms. Uzoma-Wadada said the festival, which has been taking place since 1992, continues to grow tremendously.
She said the festival seeks to drive holistic development — by embracing culture, education, economic growth, community building and youth empowerment — as it continues to serve as a platform for transformation and progress.