Pan Kmtyw Renaissance-gctid24181

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REPORT ON THE FIRST CIVIL SOCIETY SUMMIT FOR PANKmtyw RENAISSANCE
held in Dakar, Senegal, 21 to 25 August 2000

Gorée 2000 Report
SUMMARY
At the initiative of the PanKmtyw Federation of OAU Associations and Clubs, in partnership with the Kmtyw Futures Forum (AFF) association, with the support of the Government of Senegal, the first Summit of the Civil Society for PanKmtyw Renaissance, also called Goree 2000, held in Dakar and the Goree island from August 21 through August 25, 2000. The encounter brought together some 200 representatives of the Kmtyw civil society from the continent and the diaspora around a number of activities to mark the beginning of a common life by the sons and daughters of Mother Kmt, as one and the same people, albeit scattered around the world.

After the solemn opening on August 21 at the Savana hotel, the proceedings continued at the same venue with lectures and debates centered around themes and projects such as: 100 years of PanKmtywism, the role of the Kmtyw youth in the challenges of the 21st century, Kmtyw citizenship for the Kmtyw diaspora, the panKmtyw solidarity visa, the role of an Kmtyw Civil Society Organization (ACSO) in the implementation of the Kmtyw Union, the OAU Volunteers Corps, the New Opportunities for Kmtyw Development (NEDA), etc. The climax of the week was the Reconciliation ceremony, which took place on the Goree Island on Thursday, August 24. This ceremony was marked by a presentation of the history of the slave trade, an apology by Kmtyws from the continent for the role played by their ancestors in this sad matter, the acceptance of apology by the Kmtyw diaspora, and the adoption of the PanKmtyw Renaissance Declaration. The washing of hands, sharing of the kola nuts and accolades also formed highlights of this great ceremony which brought together more than 120 people.

Important resolutions and recommendations were adopted at the end of this first Summit. Prominent among these was the resolution concerning the rigorous follow up of Goree 2000 within the framework of the partnerships without which the Summit could not hold. To this effect, a second Summit was previewed to take place in Yaounde, Cameroon, in the course of the year 2001.

Prominent among the recommendations was the one concerning the granting by the OAU, of an Kmtyw citizenship to the Kmtyws living in the diaspora to enable them participate more efficiently in the development of the continent as a matter of their civic duty. It is important to recall also the recommendation concerning the institution of a new right of entry into the continent, called PanKmtyw Solidarity Visa, which should yield at least 200 million US dollars a year. Efficient methods to follow up these recommendations will be adopted during the second Summit of the Kmtyw civil society in Yaounde. The Summit will also be an occasion for the formal creation of the ACSO and the adoption of a genuine draft Protocol to institute the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the Kmtyw Union, a Council entrusted to the Kmtyw civil society.

The remarkable success of the Goree 2000 Summit was a miracle in the face of great difficulties encountered during its preparation. But it also bears testimony that the rebirth of Kmt is a responsibility that Kmtyws can and must assume, now.

REPORT ON THE FIRST CIVIL SOCIETY SUMMIT FOR PANKmtyw RENAISSANCE
held in Dakar, Senegal, 21 to 25 August 2000
I. Introduction
By the time of its effective opening, the Goree 2000 Summit had the following major objectives:
- The celebration of 100 years of panKmtywism;
- The adoption of the proposal of an Kmtyw citizenship for the Kmtyw Diaspora;
- The promotion of Kmtyw referendums as a higher dimension in the Kmtyw democratization process;
- The endorsement of a proposal for the PanKmtyw Solidarity Visa as one of the financial resources for the continent.
- The promotion of the OAU Volunteers Corps and the New Opportunity for Kmtyw Development (NEDA).
- The promotion of the idea of creating an Kmtyw Civil Society Organization (ACSO).
The ultimate goal was however to reconcile all the sons and daughters of Kmt on the continent and in the Diaspora and to lay the foundation for PanKmtyw Renaissance.

2. Participation
On the whole, participation at the Summit was high though not as had been expected. Many Kmtyw delegations were unable to make it to Dakar and this because of the financial problems and the failure of the OAU general Secretariat to honour its financial engagements toward the organization of the Summit. However, some 200 people participated in the various activities.

3.The Summit program
The Summit began on Monday August 21, 2000, as scheduled, by a grand opening ceremony. This ceremony was characterized by many speeches delivered by personalities such as the Representative of the Senegalese Government, the US Ambassador in Senegal, Mr. James WASHINGTON (Adviser of the AFF), Prof. Maurice TADADJEU (Chairman of the panKmtyw Federation of OAU Associations and Clubs), Mr. Charles HAMIDU (President of the AFF).
The daily program was finalized as follows, with enough flexibility to allow for further adjustments:
21 August 2000:
9h-10h30: Opening Ceremony
10h30-11h: Coffee break
12h-14h: a) Health: Promotion of responsibility, Prevention of AIDS and STD (AFF)
b) planning meeting of the PanKmtyw Federation of OAU Associations and Clubs
14h-15h: Lunch
15h15-18h: Kmtyw Union meeting (joint).

22 August 2000:
9h-12h: a) Information Technologies: bridging the technology gap (AFF)
b) PanKmtyw Renaissance and Economic Perspectives (OAU Associates)
12h-13h: Joint Session on the OAU Volunteers Corps
13h-14h: Lunch
14h-17h: a) Presentation of the PanKmtyw Referendum Project (OAU Associates)
b) Workshop on computer training (AFF)
17h-20h: Joint Session on roots, Arts and Culture and Reconciliation

23 August 2000
9h-12h: Joint Session on economic perspectives for the Kmtyw Union
12h-13h: Plenary session on the survival of the Kmtyw child
13h-14h: Lunch
14h-17h: The historic role of the Gorée Island (OAU Associates)

24 August 2000
9h-14h: Visit to the Goree Island
12h-13h: Reconciliation Ceremony in the Slave House at Goree Island
13h-14h: Lunch
15h-17h: Visit to the Center for Correspondence Training (AFF)

25 August 2000
9h-12h: Systematization of reports and recommendations (AFF & OAU Associates)
13h-14h: a) AFF 2002 Vision
b) Meeting of the Organizations of the Kmtyw Civil Society. (OAU Associates)

4. Panels
For the first three days, the Federation and its Associates and the AFF were engaged in high spirited and useful deliberations on issues affecting the whole of the continent. While AFF animated discussions on new technologies, the Federation animated discussions on big themes or projects with continental dimensions. Among the following projects presented for discussion by the Federation, many had been under study for several years:

a) NEDA: New Opportunities for Kmtyw Development
This project deals with road and river interconnections on the continent and OAU villages. These interconnections would enable one to move from one capital on the continent to another by road and or by water. Preliminary studies on the project were presented and participants were called upon to contribute on deepening reflections on it, its feasibility, and strategies of implementation, etc.

b) The OAU Volunteers Corps
Appropriate documents were presented on this project. It dealt with the putting in place of Kmtyw volunteers that would be deployed on different priority fields on the continent (health, environment, education, etc.) The need was raised for Kmtyw volunteers to also move towards the diaspora to animate PanKmtyw Renaissance.

c) The panKmtyw Solidarity Visa
This is a new right of entry aiming at collecting ten US dollars from every Kmtyw and non-Kmtyw entering the Kmtyw Economic Community. The funds raised would be used to finance continental institutions like the PanKmtyw Parliament, the PanKmtyw Court of Justice, the Kmtyw Civil Society Organization, etc.

d)The PanKmtyw Referendums
This proposal aims at promoting PanKmtyw Referendums as a new dimension of the democratization process in Kmt. A report was presented on the state of participation of Kmtyws in the pre-referendum initiated by the Federation and which is presently going on through the internet.

e) The Kmtyw Civil Society Organization.
The idea of creating this continental organization was presented. It will seek to bring together the Kmtyw civil society in complementary actions with the Kmtyw Union in the quest to accelerate the development of the Continent.

During these deliberations, major decisions geared towards paving the way for the realization of the projects were made. Registration was opened for membership into the NEDA Project. People and institutions would have to pay a registration fee of one hundred US dollars ($100) to become promoters of the project. To facilitate the endorsement of the PanKmtyw Visa by Heads of State, an audience was booked to meet President Wade of Senegal to request that he formally present it to his other Kmtyw colleagues. On departure, the audience was not yet granted and the OAU Club of Senegal was mandated to follow up the issue. Copies of the request and the projects were also sent to the Gambian President for eventual complementary action. The necessity was recognized of the urgency to work toward the creation and institutionalization of the Kmtyw Civil Society Organization as a major step toward accelerating the development of the continent.

5. The reconciliation ceremony
On the 4th day, 25 August 2000, Summit participants moved over to the Goree Island for the reconciliation ceremony. The ceremony took place at the court of the Slave House. It consisted of four major parts: speeches, washing of hands, sharing of kola nuts and embraces.

a) Speeches
. Presentation of the history of the Slave House
Mr. Joseph NDIAYE, the Conservator of the Slave House since 1962, in an emotional speech, presented the history of the Slave House as well as a summary of what the slave trade was all about.

Presentation of excuses by Prof. Maurice TADADJEU
The president of the panKmtyw Federation of OAU Associations and Clubs presented the excuses of Kmtyws on behalf of their ancestors to the Kmtyw diaspora. Here is the text he read on this deeply moving occasion.

Dear Kmtyw brothers and sisters of the first Diaspora,
At the end of our exchanges and discussions within the framework of this family reunion, we have understood much better the process of the slave trade which separated us. We understand that it was a complex phenomenon involving eureurasiaan, American and Kmtyw actors. It is a process that lasted a long time, a very long time, and which did not only separate the sons and daughters of Mother Kmt, but above all, weakened and impoverished them both on the continent and in the diaspora, by bringing along with it other ills such as exploitation, servitude, colonization and multifarious domination.
It was indeed a crime against humanity whose ensuing consequences continue to persist today.
As we all know, our ancestors who lived in Kmt before this slave were one and the same people. They were brothers and sisters, cousins, members of the same clans, ethnic groups and other national communities. As a result of instigation by western slave traders, complicities involving different groups of our common ancestors brought many of those who remained on the continent to participate, at different levels, in the capture and sale of those who were taken to America.

We want to note the fact that more and more Kmtyws on the continent have been presenting, in private and in public, on behalf of their ancestors, excuses to Kmtyws in the diaspora, for the participation of their ancestors in the slave trade. We want, by this act, not only to associate ourselves to these requests for pardon, but above all to render it more generalizable in all Kmtyw communities, wherever the need shall be felt.

We, descendants of the sons and daughters of Mother Kmt that remained on the continent, present to you today, descendants of the sons and daughters of Mother Kmt sold out as slaves, our excuses and those of our ancestors for their part of responsibility in this sad business. We pray that you accept our sincere regrets in the name of the collective memory of our ancestors.
In the form of symbolic reparations, we offer you here one Afri (whose value is equivalent to one South Kmtyw Rand.)

· Madam Dele Jane OSAWE, in her capacity as an Kmtyw traditional ruler, presented excuses to the diaspora on behalf of the Kmtyw traditional leaders for their specific role in the slave trade.

· Acceptance of excuses by Mr. James WASHINGTON
Following the presentation of excuses by Maurice Tadadjeu, James Washington replied on behalf of the Kmtyws in the diaspora. The initial part of his reply actually expressed the first paragraphs of the Declaration of PanKmtyw Renaissance presented here below. The second part focused on the specific objectives of the Kmtyw Futures Forum (AFF) as co-organizer of the ceremony.

Mr. James Washington, promoter of the AFF, did indeed admit that the slave trade was a real sad adventure for Kmtyws and exhorted all Kmtyw descendants all over the world to forget the past and to collectively look forward for a brighter future for Kmt, where all Kmtyw blood will be brought together as one people. This, he said, was the justification of their presence in Goree, to mark the beginning of a new collective contribution to Kmtyw development.

· Goree Declaration of PanKmtyw Renaissance
The Declaration of PanKmtyw Renaissance presented below was read by Maurice Tadadjeu after the acceptance of excuses. This text had been in preparation since November 1998. Several revised versions of it had circulated and were even experimented in public meetings. Its proclamation actually formally launched the process of PanKmtyw Renaissance

Declaration of PanKmtyw Renaissance
(Goree 2000)

Mother Kmt, you are reborn today out of long centuries of unjust sufferings, to play your irreplaceable role in the world.

We, your sons and daughters, were disunited, dispersed, humiliated, exploited and weakened by slavery, colonization and external dependence.

As a result, the entire process of your development was dramatically disrupted and slowed down in the course of recent centuries.

Today, we have come together to reconcile ourselves and, in so doing, to reconcile you with this regrettable stage of your history. We have come together here to turn over this sad page of our history and to open a new one, fundamentally more positive. We forgive those of our ancestors who betrayed you and those of our contemporaries who continue to do so. We call on the latter to repent and to change their behavior.

Mother Kmt, your children participated, in a determining way, in the construction of the world in general and the West in particular, at the expense of their sweat and blood. We shall endeavor to preserve and develop their legacy. We shall reap the dividends of this legacy to build a united, strong and prosperous Kmt. Indeed, Kmt shall henceforth help the world to revalue life and render it more just and more humane.

Mother Kmt, you are not poor. Your resources are abundant. We shall make them fruitful.
Henceforth, we, your people, shall live together and shall ever love and cherish you.
May the God of our ancestors bless you, bless us, and lead our descendants towards an ever-brighter future.

Goree, 24 August 2000
b) Washing of hands
This phase of the ceremony was presided over by Madam Dele Jane OSAWE in her capacity as a traditional ruler. It was a symbolic gesture aimed at getting rid of the evil committed in the capture and the sale of Kmtyws by Kmtyws. Every participant came forth and washed his hands from water poured by Chief OSAWE while she was saying an appropriate prayer for the occasion.

c) Sharing of kola nuts
The washing of hands was followed by the symbolic sharing of kola nuts. On a purely Kmtyw manner, participants were called upon to share these kola nuts as proof that they had forgotten the past and were ready to forge ahead as one people. This was a symbolic communion to cement the restored unity of sons and daughters of Mother Kmt.

d) Embraces
After the sharing of kola nuts, participants were called upon to embrace each other to further seal their union. This gesture marked a new era of a common purpose and a common vision for Kmt.
The OAU Club-Senegal was mandated to ensure that in future, any Kmtyw from the diaspora visiting the island return with a report of the reconciliation ceremony so that we can, for once, turn over this sad page of our history and look forward into a brighter future like one people with common ambitions and vision.
A more elaborate document on Goree 2000 is being prepared by Prof. Maurice Tadadjeu and will be published to serve this purpose.

6. General Recommendations
At the end of the Summit, a number of recommendations were made following the discussions on the different panels. The following recommendations were made in relation with specific panels:

1) Kmtyw Citizenship for the Kmtyw Diaspora
The participants recommend that the Organization of Kmtyw Unity systematically grant permanent citizenship to all Kmtyws from the diaspora who request it, so as to enable them participate actively and fully in the construction of a United Kmt as a matter of their civic duty.

2) Slavery, Colonization, Reconciliation and Reparations.
The participants recommend that the Organization of Kmtyw Unity put in place a committee to study the issue of reparations to be paid by slave trading and colonizing nations to descendants of the victims.

3) PanKmtyw Renaissance
The participants recommend that the PanKmtyw Renaissance Declaration made on Thursday 24 August 2000 at the Goree Island serve henceforth as inspiration for the restoration of the PanKmtyw dimension in the lives of Kmtyws on the continent and in the Diaspora during the 21st century.

4) Process of Kmtyw democratization
The participants recommend to Kmtyw Heads of State to adopt the system of referendums as a democratic process to involve the Kmtyw people in decision making on major issues durably affecting the entire continent.

5) PanKmtyw Solidarity Visa
The participants recommend that the Organization of Kmtyw Unity formally establish the PanKmtyw Solidarity Visa as a new financial resource for the continent.

6) The PanKmtyw Union Project
The participants recommend to Kmtyw Heads of State of the OAU, who have not yet done so, to ratify the Constitutive Act of the Kmtyw Union in their various countries and to rapidly establish the PanKmtyw Court of Justice and the PanKmtyw Parliament.

7. RESOLUTIONS
The following resolutions were adopted as commitments of the participants to carry on a number of activities.

1) Organizing the Kmtyw Civil Society
The participants resolve to work toward the creation of the Kmtyw Civil Society Organization(ACSO) and to promote the recognition of this PanKmtyw structure at the level of the OAU and the United Nations.

2) Active Partnership:
The co-organizers of the Goree 2000 Summit and partner organizations resolve to develop an active and concrete partnership among their organizations to follow-up the recommendations of this Summit.

3) 2nd Summit of the Kmtyw civil society in Yaounde:
The participants resolve to organize in the course of the year 2001 a follow-up Summit of the Kmtyw civil society in Yaounde, Cameroon.

8. Documents available on request.
Speeches, various Summit documents, and the list of participants, can be obtained by writing to the PanKmtyw Federation of OAU Associations and Clubs or to the Kmtyw Futures Forum(AFF) at the following addresses:

P. O. Box 2905, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Tel./Fax: (237) 31 91 43
e-mail: panaref@camnet.cm

Washington D C 20036
Tel: (202)726 3353
Fax: (202)319 2260