PASMAE

Geographical location

Ghana is a West African country that shares borders with Togo (to the east), Côte d’Ivoire (to the west) and Burkina Faso (to the north). At the southern border is the north-easternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean, the part often referred to as the Gulf of Guinea. English is the official language, and the unit of currency is the Ghana Cedi. Ghana is strategically positioned both close to the equator and on the Greenwich Meridian and the time zone is the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Ghana’s climate is as tropical as it can get, and the weather is nice all year round.

Ghana’s capital city is Accra. It is the landing space of all international flights, and it is from Accra that all international participants will travel by bus to Cape Coast (the conference venue), about 147 Km (2 and a half to 3 hours’ drive).

Ghana, the first self-governing country on the African continent under Kwame Nkrumah in 1957, is popular as a tourist destination for many reasons. In Cape Coast alone, where the conference is proposed to take place, there’s a rich variety of booming musical cultures, the popular Kakum National Park and canopy walk, adinkra symbols carving and paintings, historical edifices some of which have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites (e.g. the Cape Coast Castle), the celebration of the Pan African Historical Theatre Festival (PANAFEST), the celebration of the Fetu festival, the site of the first colonial castles and castle schools, the fishing port, the traditional chief paramountcy, and the legendary singing fishermen, just to name a few. The University of Cape Coast is one of the rare Universities that overlook the Ocean.

Flights and local transport

The Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana is a landing site for many international, regional and local airlines. No internal flights are available or needed from Accra to Cape Coast. Once international participants land from their international flights in Accra, the common means of transport to Cape Coast is by bus. We know from experience that some participants would want to arrive a couple of days earlier than the conference for various reasons or would want to navigate around on their own. For conference participants who opt for it however, organized airport pickup buses will be available to transport you to Cape Coast. Designated personnel who can be clearly identified by their tags and conference T-shirts will be there in person to meet conference participants. Once in Cape Coast, everything is in very close proximity to the University Campus which is the conference venue.

Accommodation

Because Cape Coast is a common tourist destination in Ghana, a good mix of hotels (of varying stars), guest houses, air bnb and even family hostings are readily available. There are many and varied options within and close to the University which can serve different budgets. A comprehensive list of recommended accommodation with their corresponding costs will be populated on the conference website in due course. While participants can go ahead and book their own accommodation, the conference LOC is working on getting a good package for participants who book accommodation through the conference secretariat. Further information on this will be made available on the conference website in due course.

Visas

There is a dedicated sub-committee responsible for assisting those who require visas. They will work closely with the Office of International Relations (OIR) at the University of Cape Coast to assist with visa applications of the many international students and academics who will attend the Conference. All questions related to visas may be directed to pasmae.gmta2023@gmail.com.

Currency and language(s).

Currency

The official currency used in Ghana is the Ghana cedi. For planning purposes, participants may use the Bank of Ghana currency conversion rate which can be accessed through https://www.bog.gov.gh/treasury-and-the-markets/daily-interbank-fx-rates/

Languages

Although Ghana has up to 50 indigenous languages, the official language is English. Conference participants can use the English language not only within the conference space, but also to navigate their day-to-day activities in Ghana.

Local Musics

Ghana is one of the most musically-diverse countries in the world. Within each of the 16 administrative regions of the country are unique local/ethnically distinct music and dance forms which speak to the richness and heterogeneity Ghana’s musical cultures. In Cape Coast alone (the conference venue), there are at least twelve (12) major cultural troupes that perform different musical forms from different parts of the country.

Cape Coast is very close to the spot where the label ‘high-life’ was couched for Ghana’s homegrown popular musical style. Cape Coast is also home to some of Ghana’s topmost choral groups that perform rich locally composed choral music. The legendary singing fishermen of Ghana can also be found along the shores of Cape Coast in very close proximity to the University.

Musical variety is one of the strongest areas that Ghana and Cape Coast has to offer.