THE SHORT VERSION / What was the Year of Return in Ghana?
The Year of Return was Ghana's 2019 campaign inviting the African diaspora home, marking 400 years since enslaved Africans were recorded arriving in Virginia in 1619. It brought a surge of diaspora visitors to Accra that December, turned the city into a Detty December capital, and was followed by the decade-long Beyond the Return programme.
- Year
- 2019
- Marked
- 400 years since 1619
- Launched by
- President Nana Akufo-Addo
- Follow-up
- Beyond the Return
- Key sites
- Cape Coast, Elmina
- Legacy
- Accra's December boom
What was the Year of Return?
The Year of Return was a 2019 initiative by the Government of Ghana, launched by President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2018, inviting people of African descent around the world to visit, reconnect with and invest in Ghana. It marked 400 years since 1619, when the first enslaved Africans were recorded arriving in the English colony of Virginia.
5 things the Year of Return did
- Invited the diaspora home, especially African Americans and Caribbean and British people of African descent.
- Put heritage sites at the centre, including Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle. See our Cape Coast guide.
- Created a December calendar of concerts, festivals and events in Accra.
- Highlighted citizenship and residence paths, including Ghana's Right of Abode, and Ghana granted citizenship to a group of diaspora Africans in 2019.
- Launched a longer programme, Beyond the Return, to keep the connection going after 2019.
How the Year of Return created modern Detty December
Before 2019, "Detty December" was mostly a Nigerian phrase centred on Lagos. The Year of Return brought hundreds of thousands of diaspora visitors to Accra in December 2019, filling festivals, beaches and clubs. Accra became the second capital of the season, and the Lagos–Accra December circuit was born. Read the full story in What is Detty December?
Beyond the Return
Beyond the Return followed in 2020 as a decade-long programme to build lasting ties with the diaspora through tourism, investment, culture and repatriation.
What the Right of Abode means
Ghana's Right of Abode allows people of African descent in the diaspora to apply to live in Ghana indefinitely. It has existed in Ghanaian law since the early 2000s and gained attention during the Year of Return. Check the Ghana Immigration Service for current requirements.
How to honour the history on your trip
- Visit Cape Coast and Elmina castles with a guide.
- Spend time at the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. See things to do in Accra.
- Visit Assin Manso, the ancestral slave river site, if you have time.
- Support Ghanaian businesses: designers, restaurants, artists and guides.
Frequently asked questions
What was the Year of Return?
The Year of Return was Ghana's 2019 campaign inviting the African diaspora to visit and reconnect with Ghana, marking 400 years since enslaved Africans were recorded arriving in Virginia in 1619.
What is Beyond the Return?
Beyond the Return is the decade-long follow-up programme, launched after 2019, to build lasting diaspora ties with Ghana through tourism, investment and culture.
Can people in the diaspora live in Ghana?
Ghana's Right of Abode lets people of African descent apply to live in Ghana indefinitely. Check the Ghana Immigration Service for current rules.
