{"id":235,"date":"2019-10-16T16:13:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T14:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/?p=235"},"modified":"2019-10-16T16:13:37","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T14:13:37","slug":"nkrumah-memorial-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/2019\/10\/nkrumah-memorial-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Nkrumah Memorial Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the city centre of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, a park commemorates the memory of Kwame Nkrumah, an important figure of the country. – Valentin Hurni<\/em><\/p>\n

An icon of emancipation and rapprochement<\/span><\/h2>\n

Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) was a Ghanaian intellectual and statesman, known to be the leader of Ghana\u2019s independence. His political career was focused on the notions of anticolonialism, pan-Africanism, nationalism and socialism[1]<\/a>. He served as Prime Minister (1957-1960) and then President (1960-1966) of free Ghana, until being overthrown by a military coup d\u2019\u00e9tat<\/em>. He died in exile in 1972.<\/p>\n

A memorial and touristic site honoring an emblematic leader<\/span><\/h2>\n

Despite a presidency judged by some as being a dictatorship, Nkrumah remains a respected personality[2]<\/a>. So in 1992, his remains were transferred by the government from his hometown to a marble mausoleum located in Accra, in the so-called \u201cNkrumah Memorial Park\u201c.<\/p>\n

The park is primarily a memorial site that honours Nkrumah\u2019s life and importance in the decolonisation process of Ghana and Africa. The location chosen is symbolic, given that the park was created on a site which represented former British colonial dominance, an area once named\u00a0\u201cPolo Grounds\u201d[3]<\/a>. A monumental bronze statue of Nkrumah now stands where he proclaimed Ghana\u2019s independence[4]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Secondly, this park is both a site of commemoration, with ceremonies related to Nkrumah or the history of Ghana or Africa sometimes being held there, and a tourist attraction: besides a museum, Nkrumah\u2019s grave inside the mausoleum can also be visited[5]<\/a>. Furthermore, the park is cited as a place to visit by Ghana\u2019s official tourism authority[6]<\/a> and seems to be well maintained; the presence of vegetation and water features around the mausoleum embellishing its surroundings.<\/p>\n

Finally, although similar sites exist worldwide, each is unique because they are dedicated to a specific personality or event. Such sites are an asset for domestic and international tourism in Ghana or elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Valentin Hurni<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Ghana Travel Authority, 2019; Lentz, 201 7; Owusu-Ansah, 2014.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Lentz, 2017; Visit Ghana, 2019.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid.<\/em>.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ghana.travel\/<\/a> and \u00a0https:\/\/visitghana.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Bouamama, 2017; Lentz, 2017.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Bouamama, 2017; Lentz, 2017; Owusu-Ansah, 2014.<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/span><\/h2>\n

Bouamama, S. (2017). Figures de la r\u00e9volution africaine. De Kenyatta \u00e0 Sankara<\/em>. Paris: La D\u00e9couverte. (Original book published in 2004).<\/p>\n

Ghana Travel Authority (2019). Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park<\/em> [Web page]. Available at https:\/\/www.ghana.travel\/places-to-visit\/regions\/greater-accra\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Lentz, C. (2017). Ghanaian \u201cMonument Wars\u201d. The Contested History of the Nkrumah Statues. Cahiers d\u2019\u00e9tudes africaines, 227<\/em>(3), 551-582. DOI: 10.4000\/etudesafricaines.20822<\/p>\n

Owusu-Ansah, D. (2014). Historical Dictionary of Ghana <\/em>(4th<\/sup> ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.<\/p>\n

Source of the image: https:\/\/pixabay.com\/fr\/photos\/accra-ghana-afrique-de-l-ouest-1947674\/<\/a> (Pixabay).<\/p>\n

Visit Ghana (2019). Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park<\/em> [Web page]. Available at https:\/\/visitghana.com\/attractions\/kwame-nkrumah-memorial-park\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the city centre of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, a park commemorates the memory of Kwame Nkrumah, an important figure of the country. – Valentin Hurni<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001941,"featured_media":236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[6,5,31],"class_list":{"0":"post-235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-le-ghana-et-ses-ressources","8":"tag-6","9":"tag-ghana","10":"tag-nkrumah-memorial-park"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001941"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/tourismeetdeveloppement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}