Ghanaians In Germany Meet In Munich To Celebrate Their Culture

The celebration of Ghanaian culture has become very important in the lives of Ghanaians living in Germany. The cultural and creative identity of the Ghanaian is embodied in his/her visual arts, history, and language. The cultural well-being is derived from sharing its values, beliefs, identity, and self-expression with one another and the German community as a whole.

First to arrive were the local associations and invited guests - then the traditional chiefs and

queens from all over Germany to the Salesianum, Siebold Street. 11 in Munich on Saturday

October 11, 2014. The atmosphere was splendid as all present were fully clad the African

style.
At around 1700 hours CET on a spectacularly sunny Saturday afternoon the hall had been

filled with over 500 Ghanaians, Germans and other nationals. The chiefs and queens were

greeted with traditional drumming and music as they entered the hall.

The annual event, the Ghana Cultural Festival (GCF), is being organised by the Union of

Ghanaian Associations in Germany (UGAG) and this year's was hosted by the Ghana

Community Munich. In his welcome address, the president of the Ghana Community

Munich, Mr. Kwasi Owusu-Ansah Bies saluted all present for the enthusiasm to attend the

festival in Munich. Mr. Daniel Dake, president of UGAG also thanked all the people who had

traveled from far and near to join UGAG celebrate again. The local associations that

thronged the event hall included; Ghana Union Karlsruhe, Ghana Union Mannheim &

Ludwigshafen, Ghana Union Worms, Ghana Community Munich, Ghana Union Stuttgart,

Ghana Union Freiburg, Ghana Union Bremen, Ghana Union Darmstadt, Ghana Union

Saarland, Ghana Union Cologne, Ghana Union Kassel, Ghana Union Düsseldorf, Ghana

Union Hamburg, Ghana Community Berlin, Ghana Union Krefeld, Ghana Union

Kaiserslautern, Ghana Union Landshut, Ghana Union Münster, Ghana Union Augsburg and

the Ghana Youth Association Germany (GYAG)
Special guests at the cultural festival included Minister S. Adotey Anum, who stood in for Her

Excellency Akua Sena Dansua the Ghana Ambassador in Germany; Mr. Dieter Reiter,

Munich City Mayor; Mr. Martin Neumeyer, Munich Integration Officer; Mr. Florian Wolfart,

Ghana Honorary Consul in Munich and Mr. Michael Ayisi, Diaspora Officer at the Ghana

Embassy in Berlin. All the special guests had the opportunity to address the audience. In a

message delivered on behalf of H.E. Akua Sena Dansua, Minister Adotey Anum informed

the audience that the Ghana Embassy in Berlin will be organising a mega cultural summer

get-together for Ghanaians next year 2015. He mentioned that the Ghana Embassy will in

due course inform Ghanaians about the venue and other details of the proposed 2015

cultural event.
The performing groups that entertained the audience at the 2014 UGAG Ghana Cultural

Festival (GCF) in Munich included the Odja Cultural Group, Munich Ewe Cultural Dancers,

Sammy Asafo & Allstar Live Band, West African Union Cultural Group, Mr. Patrick K. Addai

(Storyteller), and the Munich Hip-hop/African Dance Group. The after-event party continued

till midnight with a renowned Ghanaian DJ from Munich at the pole position. It was a day of

fun and fair.
Matters of appetite were also not overlooked; the audience was served with delicious

Ghanaian and African dishes as well as beverages.
The Festival was free to the general public. Sponsors who contributed to the success of the

UGAG 2014 Ghana Cultural Festival (GCF) included RIA Money Transfer, Ghana Cargo

Shipping Agency, Reiseservice Sacco, Togbe Cephas Bansah and The Royal Society and

The City of Munich.
Akwasi Opoku Edusei
UGAG General Secretary

INVITED GUESTS & AUDIENCE

MIN. ANUM, MR. WOLFART &MR. AYISI

MINISTER S. ADOTEY ANUM (1)

MR. MARTIN NEUMEYER, INTEGRATION OFFICER, MUNICH

MUNICH CULTURAL GROUP DANCERS

MUNICH CULTURAL GROUP

PRES. OWUSU-ANSAH, PRES, BUSIA & PRES. AGANAH

TOGBE BANSAH & WIFE DANCING

UGAG PRESIDENT (1)