ACDA celebrates an African country annually because most Guyanese of African descent cannot trace their ancestral roots to a particular African Nation. In choosing a particular African country to highlight every year, ACDA seeks to educate young and old about African countries and to remind them that Africa has 54 countries and is not a single country like China or India or the United States.
Traditionally, ACDA honours an African country every Emancipation Festival by building an educational booth for that country. However, this year 2025, the focus will be Burkina Faso. A country with a very rich African influence, history and culture, will proudly be showcased during the observance of this Emancipation, as we explore our glorious past.
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa; whose current leader has recently brought a lot of attention to this country bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,878 sq mi). In 2024, the country had an estimated population of approximately 23,286,000. Previously called the Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984), it was renamed Burkina Faso by then-president Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabes, and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou. The largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso is the Mossi people, who settled the area in the 11th and 13th centuries. They established powerful kingdoms such as Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga. The economy is largely agricultural; it is geographically biodiverse, and includes plentiful reserves of gold, manganese, copper and limestone. Due to its multicultural make-up, Burkinabè art has a rich and long history, and is globally renowned for its orthodox style.
