Gambians are on the march again for the celebration of the 9th edition of the International Root Festival scheduled for 30th May - 7th June 2008.

According to Mr. Momodou Joof, Director General of the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) who is also the Chairman of the National Coordinating Committee for the 9th edition of the Root Festival said that this year Roots trail’s celebration will be at Janjangbureh.

In the Gambian there are lot of different cultural heritages and festivals grouped into three categories. We have community, national and international festivals. Among the international festival is Home Coming Roots Festival - a biennial event that grows in steady numbers and reaches out to the people residing within Africa, America, Europe, Scandinavia, Latin America, Caribbean Islands and Aborigines.

This event aims, as explained by Mr Joof is to strengthen and cement unity amongst Africans on the continent and within the Diaspora, to promote and give full exposure of The Gambia cultural heritages to the world and more so to encourage local and particularly foreign investors into the nation which will not be a benefit to the Gambia alone but Africa as a whole.

It is the part of each and every black soul that has wandered away to come back to their base and this can only be done through the tracing or returning back to the origin and where is the origin, the root which is the foundation where you can experience what they call real life and well rich cultures of which they have been denied courtesy of the colonial slave masters in some hundred years ago.

The biennial International Roots Festival which was designed to encourage peoples of African descendant that resides within the Diasporas to further discover their ancestral identity was first celebrated in the year 1996. This was due to a lot of different heritages that Gambia possesses and particularly the accolade received from the book – "ROOTS.’

A book published by the African-American Historian, Alex Hailey, who traced and discovered his root in The Gambian in a small village called Juffureh. He wrote this book, ROOTS, based upon the discovery of his origin and this book was later turned to a cinema that was showing on television and further produces into home videos for millions of people to view.

In brief, the history of the International Roots Festival will not be understood without mention James Island, it is an Island in the River Gambia which bears the last remains of a slave fort where Africans were held captive before they were forcibly put into slave ships to embark on an unknown journey without return. As confirmed by the director of NCAC "this is what brought Juffureh to limelight with a lot of other things at the village."

As the say goes ‘no event, no history,’ the International Root Festival celebration cannot be separated from the history of the slave trade. It was over 400 years ago that the ancestors have been separated by slave trade which was championed by the colonial slave masters. They kept Africans at bay from their true history and origin, identity, cultural traditions and prevented unity and growth amongst its people and the Africa continent as a whole.

At the heart of Atlantic slavery was the slave trade, a vast co-ordinated system for the forced migration of Africans often from hundreds of miles in their homeland to virtually every corner of America. Both Europeans and Africans participated in the trade, and four continents were deeply influenced by it.

In celebrating this year International Roots Festival, Mr Joof, Director of NCAC, a semi autonomous institution that was established to promote and develop Gambian arts and culture, who is also the Chairman of the National Coordinating Committee for the 9th Edition of the International Roots Festival, has said that this year event is going to be celebrated in a grand style with fanfares. The 9-day event will start on the 30th of May with orientation and welcome reception at Army Officers Mess, Kotu. Day two, 31st of May is for investment forum at Paradise Suite Hotel, Kololi, follow by Carnival procession at Kairaba Avenue and official opening of the 9th Edition of the International Roots Festival by His Excellency Dr Alhagie AJJ Jammeh at the Independence Stadium, Bakau.

On the 1st of June is scheduled for interfaith religious forum conference at Friendship Hotel, Bakau, Regatta (traditional boat race) will take place at Banjul Wharf. Roots trail continue, 2nd June will be a visit to Janjangbureh and heritage sites in Central River Region plus cultural night. The fifth day-3rd of June is pilgrimage to Juffureh village, the home town of Alex Hailey, the grate historian, in Juffureh/Albreda villages in North Bank Region. Sixth-day, 4th of June is set aside for preparation of initiates, at Kanilai village, symposium on pan-Africanism in Sindola Camp and local traditional wrestling competition at Kanilai Square.

The 5th of June is the d-day for ‘Futampaf’ (rites of passage) in Kanilai village and Foni Kansala respectively; this is solely sponsored by His Excellency Yahya Jammeh. Later in the day it will be Roots Gala Dinner where participants will have real taste of the Gambia food (local Gambian and West African cuisine and beverages) with fashion show and entertainment by local and international artists’ present, venue is Sindola Camp – Foni Kansala. Friday the 6th of June is the visit to Makasutu Eco-tourism Cultural Forest Park in Kembujeh village, in Western Region while Palma Rima Beach, Kotu will be a host to farewell musical jamboree (by local and international guests/artists). Finally, Saturday is a free morning/shopping departures for individual.

This year Home Coming Root Festival is going to be groovy and supercede the previous celebrations due to the introduction of more activities that will make it enjoyable and remarkable event each and every tourist will have a splendid time.