A year later, it’s clear that the dance promotes a conscious concept of Africanity – sowing feelings of tolerance and contentment that have conquered international audiences.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa (right) shakes hands with Rwandan President Paul Kagame (left) at the Commonwealth summit in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2013.
Sri Lankan Government/Getty Images
Philip Murphy, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Despite its Imperial origins, the Commonwealth has a strong radical tradition. If it wants to remain relevant to Africa in the 21st Century, that radicalism needs to be rediscovered.
Zambia-born, Botswana-raised hip hop artist Sampa the Great.
Marc Grimwade/WireImage
In a rare series of interviews, the late Ghanaian leader spoke of how the country’s slave trade was revisited as a vehicle for economic development.
The second phase of Ghana’s post-colonial history – from 1981 – is intensely controversial, centering on Jerry Rawlings himself.
Jerry John Rawlings Facebook
Kwame Nkrumah and Ali Mazrui associated nuclear weapons with imperialism and racism, but proposed different approaches to address the problem they present.
Dance troupes mark the anniversary of Ghana’s independence in the grounds of Kwame Krumah’s masuoleum in Accra in 2007.
EPA/Tugela Ridley
Gandhi was celebrated for the things he taught the world in his later years, through his writings, ideas and lifestyle. He was celebrated for seeking peace for all the peoples of the world.
A street procession during the Chale Wote festival in 2018.
Ruth Simbao
Ghana is very much the African rising star 60 years after independence with an exemplary record in health and education. But it’s struggling like many of its peers to meet social and economic targets.
Members of the Ecowas force at the Denton Bridge check point in Banjul, The Gambia, following Yahya Jammeh’s departure.
Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon
Regional power Ecowas, which has just seen off yet another dictator in Yahya Jammeh, started off with a tame agenda 42 years ago. But it was soon shaped by civil wars, military coups and despots
President Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for 36 years.
Reuters/Juda Ngwenya
Outsiders might not understand how someone who led his country’s downfall from breadbasket to basket case has remained in the presidency for so many years
Members of the Non-Aligned Movement meet at the session of the 17th summit of heads of state and government.
DIRCO
The Non-Aligned Movement member states enjoy cohesion on few issues. Historically, their heterogeneity ranged from absolute monarchs to socialist presidents.
Professor of Francophone Studies (Africa, Caribbean), Faculty Affiliate with Africana Studies, World Literature Program and Human Rights Pracice, University of Arizona