Ghana’s Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Hon Abla Dzifa Gomashie has assured the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) of her Ministry’s continued support and collaboration.
Hon Gomashie made the remarks while swearing in the new PAWA Council on July 25 2025.
In her speech which was read on her behalf by an official of the Ministry, Mr Andy William Amoo, the Minister observed that PAWA’s job of ”preserving African voices, telling our stories and uniting the continent through writing is not only commendable but essential”
In view of this, the Minister who is also a PAWA member encouraged the association “to deepen collaboration with governments, academia and cultural institutions to promote literacy, emerging writers and celebrate the diversity of African languages and narratives”.
Also speaking at the event, the Copyright Development Senior Coordinator at the World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO) in Geneva, Ms Sherine Greiss who was the Guest Speaker, congratulated PAWA for organizing a successful Council elections, an important step for Pan African literary empowerment.
According to Sherine: ” at WIPO, we are committed to supporting Africa’s creative industries. That was why we partnered PAWA to organize a virtual workshop on empowering young african authors in 2023″.
Prof Bill Ndi, a Cameroonian Poet and Professor of Humanities at the Tuskegee University in the US who is the new PAWA President in his acceptance speech on behalf of the new Council promised to serve PAWA with humility and an abiding sense of duty.
Other speakers at the event included the Secretary General of the UK based, International Authors Forum (IAF), Kevin Fitzgerald, the Legal Policy counsellor at the Belgium based International Federation of Reproductive Rights ( IFFRO), Antonios Baris, as well as the Chairman of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA), Asare Yamoah.
Other guests were the well acclaimed Poet and Literary Scholar, Prof Niyi Osundare, Prof Odame from the African Continental University, Ghana and the acting Pro VC of the Accra, Ghana based African University of Communications and Business, Dr Kemi Wale-Olaitan.
The new PAWA Council which will be in office for the next three years is made up of: Professor Bill Ndi ( President), Ms Reyna Lineres Jones ( VP Diaspora), Mr Ashraf Aboul Yazid ( VP North Africa), Mr Carlos Paradona ( VP Southern Africa), Prof Egara Kabaji ( VP East Africa), Prof Cherno Omar Barry ( VP West Africa), Mr Eric Joel Bekale (VP Central Africa) and the Secretary General, Dr Wale Okediran.
The event was also witnessed by PAWA members made up of the 54 National Writers Associations on the African continent and in the diaspora.
