Ahead of next year’s international festival the 2013 annual Ghana Vegfest will be held on November 23 and 24 at the Civil Servants Association Hall from 8 am to 4 pm each day.

The smell of Okro stew with black mushrooms and local Ghanaian flavours as well as grilled tofu and wheat kebabs kissed with dawadawa and other indigenous spices were among a few of the delights that entertained the senses of guests and visitors to the Food fair of the International Vegetarian Union’s 41st World Veg Fest held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The green lawns and colourful flowers at Lake Titiwangsa Park the venue provided the perfect setting for the culinary voyage as the Africa food stand lured curious taste buds.

The African attire of the servers at the table would have given one a good hint of where the delicious meals originated. Ghana is the lucky country to host the next IVU World Vegfest in October 2014 and the team supported by Togo and Nigeria received the IVU flag in a colourful handing over ceremony from the Chairman of the Malaysian Vegetarian Society

The four member team paid a visit to the Ghana High Commission to Malaysia to engage with the acting High Commissioner, Mrs. Caroline Oppong-Ntri and her team. The visit was very successful and the Vegetarian Association of Ghana lead by the Chairman of the 2014 Planning Committee, Dr. Kofi Asare held discussions with the staff about the importance of increasing plant based food in their diets to avoid becoming part of today’s unacceptably high statistics of Ghanaians plagued with non-communicable diseases.

He stressed “your health is your wealth and this is very serious although to most people today it sounds like a cliché until it’s too late and the earlier we appreciate its true meaning the better for us all”.

Registered in 2005, the Vegetarian Association of Ghana has become one of the most dynamic vegetarian organisations on the continent many visitors to the Malaysia event expressed delight that the next Veg Fest will be held in Accra and they will use it as a great opportunity to visit the continent for the first time.

The IVU has chosen Ghana amongst several African countries as the next host due to the positive image that the nation has earned in the recent times as well as the sustained efforts by the Vegetarian Association of Ghana to inform the public on healthy lifestyle achieved through a plant based diet.

There is a lot of expectation on what this great country with so much potential can achieve and the Association invites all Ghanaians and foreigners who want to live a healthier life to contact them and attend meetings regularly to add value to the lives of their friends and families.

A variety of activities will be put together to culminate in a great celebration of enlightened people in Accra which happens to be the closest capital City to the geographic center of the earth.

There is a lot of rich culture and history as well as flora and fauna to experience while in Ghana and the Vegetarian Association having received this mandate to host the next event is ever more focused on creating more awareness and inspiring the general public.

Public relations officer of the Vegetarian Association of Ghana Edwin Baffour says, “Any interested persons who attend on November 23rd and 24th are guaranteed an enlightening experience and we will work diligently over the next 12 months to plan a great conference in 2014, providing that Ghanaian hospitality to all who will be inspired to visit next year”.