The Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, announces a bi-annual Kwame Nkrumah Pan-Afican Intellectual Cultural Festival to be organized under the auspices of the newly established Kwame Nkrumah Chair in African Studies, in honour of Nkrumah's dedication to a tradition of vigorous and liberating Africa-centred intellectual and cultural activity, such as was outlined in the major address he gave on the occasion of the formal opening in 1963 of the Institute of African Studies. Inspiration for such a festival comes from the example of the Annual Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Intellectual Festival Week of the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, under the auspices of the Julius Nyerere Professorial Chair in Pan-African Studies. Such a festival is certain to provide a critical impetus for the promotion of a major international dialogue on Pan-African thought and struggle. The University of Ghana, through the Kwame Nkrumah Chair, is in a very good position to not merely copy the good example of Dar es Salaam, but to draw on Ghana's multiple connections with the history of Pan-Africanism to fashion a unique programme of intellectual debate and other culturally enriching events that could easily and quickly grow into one of the most significant events on the University's calendar. Unlike the annual Dar es Salaam festival, the Legon festival is to be held once every two years. The idea is to devote each intervening year to finalizing publications and other products from each edition of the festival. This should also allow reasonable time for fund raising and careful planning. Every effort will be made to produce professional audio/video/photo/web-based documentations of each major event for eventual wider circulation.

The maiden edition of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Intellectual Cultural Festival is to be held in September 2010, around the anniversary of Nkrumah’s birthday. Core festival activities will include an international symposium as well as a cluster of other cultural events, such as film shows, literary readings/performances, dramatic musical, and film shows, as well as programmes specially designed for the education and enjoyment of young people.