Gala to launch Africa Centre into era of inclusion

The Africa Centre is set to launch into a new era of inclusion and diversity at this weekend’s annual Africa Day Gala.

Organized by the Council for the Advancement of African Canadians (CAAC) in Alberta, the gala is expected to draw close to 600 people as it showcases African culture and cuisine. The evening will also feature African musicians, dancers, drummers and poets.

This year’s theme, “The Africa Centre We Want,” is meant to highlight the centre’s approach to enhancing its services and programs. It comes as CAAC welcomes a new board of directors, moving on from a period of infighting that led to a former executive director facing allegations of sexual harassment.

“We want to make the centre a very much inclusive one that welcomes any African, from any part of the continent,” said Kemoh Mansaray, who sits on the centre’s board of directors. “We want to steer the Africa Centre 2.0, as we are naming it, in a new direction.”

The gala, set to take place at the Grand Imperial Banquet and Conference Centre Saturday, will also showcase a board that Mansaray says is the centre’s first to feature a majority of female directors.

“Very professional women, some are lawyers, two or three of them work for the government. We have social workers and also a professor at University of Alberta. So, we have very diverse talents from the span of Africa,” said Mansaray.

The semi-formal event will run from 6 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

The Africa Centre is currently in the process of building a new stand-alone building in northwest Edmonton.