The Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) Chapter of the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI) held an inaugural two-day event that included a Men’s and Women’s Empowerment Seminar, an Afro Royalty Gala & Cultural Dance, and an Afro-United Concert featuring both local and foreign Afrobeats performers on the campus of Howard University.

The festival aimed at creating a framework that would help Black people in the DMV region establish or expand enterprises that will compete equally in the social and economic space. Event organizers aim to take the festival international by encouraging chapters to organize it in their various respective foreign locations according to TheAfricanDream.co, one of the event’s media partners.

ADDI was founded in the Washington DC Metro region; despite being registered in Tennessee. Her Excellency (H.E) Ambassador Arikana Chihombori Quao had the concept for the ADDI after she was relieved of her position as the African Union’s Ambassador to the US in November 2019.

To signify its historic milestone, the festival was held at the Armour J. Blackburn Center of Howard University in Washington, DC – one of the country’s oldest historically Black colleges and institutions, from September 28 to 29, 2023.

In a statement to TheAfricanDream.net in September, Ambassador Chihombori Quao stated that she saw it as her calling to continue to advocate for the “wokeness” of all black people around the globe. She considers ADDI as a “bridge between the African Diaspora and Africa. This vision was born out of the realization that the exodus of Africa’s children from slave trade to more recent immigrants has resulted in Afro Descents losing the much-needed connection to their heritage”.

A soft launching of all other ADDI Chapters also took place during the two-day event culminating into the Arikana Excellence Awards Ceremony. The awards part of the event acknowledged individuals who have shown exceptional commitment and lasting difference in the organization. It also highlighted some individuals’ personal achievements that served as an inspiration to others.

The Men’s Empowerment Seminar was held under the theme “Empowering the Global African Community: Bridging Continents for Economic Prosperity”, it was moderated by Kelvin Williams, CEO of NuHollywood and owner of Columbia School of Broadcasting.

Speakers at the event included: Alexander Cummings, Liberian Presidential Candidate and Former Coca-Cola Africa Senior Executive; Kemuel Van Der Puije, COO, Voice of Africa; Kadmiel Van Der Puije, CEO, Voice of Africa and Experience Africa; Andjelo Cherty Mwembya, US-Africa Senior Business Strategist; Curtis Smith, Founder, and CEO of Africa Tourism Union; and Jerald Boyd, Co-founder of Iceberg Renewals.

The Women’s Empowerment Seminar was themed “Recognising our resilience and Building Bridges to Empower Ourselves and Build the Africa we Envisage” and covered two key topics, Intercontinental Business and Political Leadership in the Diaspora. This seminar was moderated by Ms. Fatmata Barrie Esq.

Event speakers here included Dr. Remi Duyile and Dr. Stella Jeffries who spoke on, Intercontinental Business; and Representative Wala Blegay and Representative Naquetta Ricks who spoke on, Political Leadership in the Diaspora; H.E Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao; climaxed this session by giving an empowering statement covering both topics.

Special guests at the event included H.E SEM Sékou BERTHE Ambassador of the Republic of Mali; H.E Lynn Young, Ambassador of the Republic of Belize; and Maria del Pilar Barona from Columbia, Latin America. Guest speakers included Michael Thompson from OBT Social (a key sponsor) and Dr. Martin Kwende.

There were performances by KanKouran West African Dance Company, Pupa Curly, J-Wils, Izzy Zick and a fashion show by Itel Fashion Modeling. TheAfricanDream.co, a DMV-based communication consultancy firm, and OBT Social as well as Voice of Africa were among the event media partners.

1 H.E Ambassador Arikana Chihombori Quao Lifetime Achievement Award
2 Prof. P.L.O Lumumba Presidential Award
3 VP Damien Cook Arikana Excellence Award
4 VP Ray Huggins Arikana Excellence Award
5 VP Philip N Catlyn Springer Arikana Excellence Award
6 Mrs. Sylvia Litana Ezozo Arikana Excellence Award
7 Mr. Agrippa Ezozo Arikana Excellence Award
8 Dr. Olayinka Creighton-Randall Arikana Excellence Award
9 Mr. Benson Kasue Arikana Excellence Award
10 Dr. Stella Jeffries Arikana Excellence Award
11 Dr. E. Faye Williams Arikana Excellence Award
12 Prince Kalada William Jumbo Arikana Excellence Award
13 Dr. Gloria B. Herndon Arikana Excellence Award
14 Mr. David Horne Arikana Excellence Award
15 Mr. Djimon Hounsou Arikana Excellence Award
16 Mr. Basil Ajuo Arikana Excellence Award
17 Mr. Curlyn S Arnold Arikana Excellence Award
18 Rep Naquetta Ricks Arikana Excellence Award
19 Dr. Norma Lozano-Jackson Arikana Excellence Award
20 Ms. Liliosa Chambwera Arikana Excellence Award
21 Dr. Ambrosia Mondoa Arikana Excellence Award
22 Mother Vivian Stuart Arikana Excellence Award
23 Ms. Marie Taqui Arikana Excellence Award
24 Dr. Lee Whitaker Arikana Excellence Award
25 Mr. Thomas Hoktcheu Arikana Excellence Award
26 Mr. Kliphord Darkwa Arikana Excellence Award
27 Aturah Bahtiyah AKA Nana Adjoa Amissah II Arikana Excellence Award
28 Lazare Ki Zerbo Arikana Excellence Award
29 Ms. Johanna Leblanc JD Arikana Excellence Award
30 Elder Nabeela Uqdah Arikana Excellence Award (Posthumous)
31 Ms. Iman Uqdah Hameen Arikana Excellence Award
32 Mr. Davies Chirwa Arikana Excellence Award
33 Mr. Siphiwe Baleka Arikana Excellence Award
34 Prof Linley. Chiwona-Karltun Arikana Excellence Award
35 Mwalimu Kbailia Arikana Excellence Award
36 Mr. Haki Ammi Arikana Excellence Award
37 Bro. Baya Kes-Ba-Me-Ra Bradford Arikana Excellence Award
38 Mr. Cliff Kuumba Arikana Excellence Award
39 Sydney Francis Arikana Excellence Award
40 Prof. Anita Diop Arikana Excellence Award
41 Dr. Franklin Abraham Arikana Excellence Award
42 Mr. Melvin Brown Arikana Excellence Award
43 Dr. Nangula Hopwood Arikana Excellence Award
44 Mr. Cletus Prince Arikana Excellence Award

In a post-event interview with TheAfricanDream.co Ambassador Chihombori-Quao expressed her amazement at how huge the event turned out to be, “especially as ADDI is still a very young organization. This is the first of many chapter launches and Afro Festivals as ADDI continues to tell the world that enough is enough, we are ready to take our rightful place on the global stage”.