Gospel and Roots Festival | event infomartion

The “Gospel and Roots Festival” is a celebration of reconciliation and the process started in 1999 reconciliation conference that changed the heart of many.

The Gospel and Roots Festival is also a product of the 1999 Reconciliation and Development Conference in Benin. It is an international celebration of the role of the gospel in preserving The African Diaspora historically and its present effect on the modern culture. The festival is intended to bring together people from around the world and across the Diaspora with their brothers in Africa for a celebration of reconciliation and forgiveness. It is hoped that this reconciliation would serve as the foundation for development and economic empowerment.

J. Gunnar Olson, founder and chairman of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce, referring to the Reconciliation Conference and subsequent plans in his book “Business Unlimited” he wrote: “This was the first step in the reconciliation process, and later a voyage is planned by the African- American Christian leadership onboard a cruise ship which will bring 600 African–Americans to Senegal, Ghana, and Benin, the three main ports that slaves were exported from.

At this time there will be great celebrations with a Gospel Festival, involving art and music, symbolizing Joseph’s treasures in Egypt. This will be a glorious occasion in Benin, affecting the entire nation. Finally, plans are being made to follow the reconciliation process with a third step, involving a trade exhibition which will open up the treasures of Africa and provide new trading links with the world at large. The intention is to make this Trade Show a bi-annual event. The festival reflects the role of Gospel and Folk music in the lives of the African Diaspora. More importantly, it recognizes the role musical expression played in breaking down the walls of racism and other barriers with other people groups.”

The objective is to use this universal language of music to facilitate reconciliation, racial healing and harmony. The real value of the festival is in serving as a proving ground for whether or not reconciliation is possible as a practical matter. It also serves as the perfect tool for introducing the Diaspora to Africa while highlighting the vast potential of the continent. The first installment of the festival was held in Benin in October 2002, the second in August of 2003 with plans for the third annual festival in 2004. A strategic five-year plan for the festival has been completed and is set for implementation beginning January of 2004.

Among the highlights of the five-year strategic plan is the “Reconciliation Voyage” in November of 2005. The voyage is intended to symbolically fulfill the hope of millions of African Slaves to see their homeland again. The festival will be included in each stop of the Reconciliation Tour as a Gospel and Folk Concert. Aspects of the tour will be hosted in countries where the Diaspora is part of the population and where lack of cultural identity have led to social, political and emotional unrest. The Gospel and Roots events in Benin and beyond are expected to accomplish the following objectives:

• To create, build, and maintain a well executed festival celebrating reconciliation between the nations of Africa and its Diaspora within and under the leadership and patronage of the government and people of Benin.
• To provide a forum for all the Diaspora to make their unique gifts, talents, and economic resources available to their brethren in Africa and the rest of the world.
• To make the festival an international television event with worldwide appeal that attracts public and private sector participation and sponsorship.
• To explain and enhance the value of the reconciliation course to the Benin people and provide them an ongoing forum for their genius, talents, creativity and gifts to be presented to the rest of the world.
• To construct around the festival structures for the other objectives of reconciliation and development including educational forums, trade and business expos, and tourism.
• To realize a sustainable profit that can be reinvested in the festival’s development particularly in areas where self-sustenance is expected to be a challenge. This reinvestment will include follow up action from developmental leads generated during the festival and the agency’s maintenance.