As Trinidad and To­ba­go marks 188 years since eman­ci­pa­tion, the Pan African Fes­ti­val re­turns to­day with a re­newed call to deep­en un­der­stand­ing of African his­to­ry, cul­ture and iden­ti­ty while con­fronting the lega­cies of colo­nial­ism.

The eight-day cel­e­bra­tion, held un­der the theme “Ig­nit­ing African Con­scious­ness: Dis­man­tling Colo­nial Lega­cies,” opens at 10.30 am at the Lidj Ya­su Omowale Eman­ci­pa­tion Vil­lage at the Queen’s Park Sa­van­nah and con­tin­ues un­til Au­gust 1.

The fes­ti­val is or­gan­ised by the Eman­ci­pa­tion Sup­port Com­mit­tee (ESC) as part of the coun­try’s an­nu­al ob­ser­vance of Eman­ci­pa­tion Day, which com­mem­o­rates the end of slav­ery and the free­dom of en­slaved Africans.