‘Bridgerton’ Star Adjoa Andoh And ‘Bel-Air’ Actor Jimmy Akingbola To Deliver Keynotes At Heritage And Cultural Society Of Africa’s Sankofa Summit In New York

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran British actress Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton) and Jimmy Akingbola (Bel-Air) are among the names that have signed on to deliver keynote speeches at The Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa’s (HACSA) Sankofa Summit set to run October 9 and 10 at Columbia University.

This year’s summit, the first held in New York, will host 10 panels and over 50 speakers. Alongside Andoh and Akingbola other speakers include Bell Ribeiro Addy MP, UK MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing, former Premier of Turks and Caicos Islands, Google engineering VP Gavin Leo-Rhynie, and Togolese entrepreneur Claude Grunitzky. UNESCO, Acosta Institute, Delta Airlines, and Kowri serve as official partners of the event.

The Sankofa Summit is the HACSA’s flagship event. Organizers have said they mount the event to showcase “excellence in the African Diaspora” and celebrate “Africa’s rich history, heritage and culture.” The title theme of this year’s summit is Inspiring the Youth – Healing Communities. 

The HACSA is a non-profit, NGO and CSO headquartered in Ghana. Some of the organization’s work includes preserving and promoting African heritage and culture across the globe and connecting investors and people of African descent in the diaspora with each other and the African continent through the HACSA Sankofa Network. 

Discussing HACSA and her planned keynote, Andoh said she had been “honored to be a patron of The Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa (HACSA) Foundation for several years now.”

“I support this women-led, international, nonprofit, NGO, headquartered in Ghana to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Why? Because the invitation to discover more of the continent’s history; to celebrate and challenge where we sit now with ourselves and the wider world; and the invitation to educate and innovate with partners to secure a future for our youth, and particularly our women and girls, is important to me,” Andoh said.

Akingbola added: “I am honored to be a patron of HACSA, the amazing and important work they do around inspiring the youth speaks to my heart and spirit. As a British-born Nigerian, I can’t wait to be part of an event that’s dedicated to bringing us all together from around the world, showcasing excellence in the African Diaspora, and celebrating Africa’s rich history, heritage and culture.”