Osodieme of Awka Kingdom, Voice magazine in 20th anniversary bash
The city of Almere in Holland was agog as people from all walks of life joined the management of The Voice magazine to celebrate their 20 years’ anniversary on November 23, 2019.
The event which took place at the main auditorium of the Royal Party Event Centre, Transistorstraat 60, 1322, Almere, The Netherlands, had in attendance people from all parts of the world, who came to celebrate with the organisers on their landmark accomplishments.
They included people from United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia, Kenya and many Africans resident in The Netherlands.
The evening celebration was introduced by Her Excellency, Amb. Chief Princess (Mrs.) Nwanne Campo, Osodieme of Awka Kingdom in Anambra State, who is based in Spain. She also doubled as Event State Manager and introductory personality of the night, introducing the moderator and masters of ceremony.
Part of the anniversary was a panel discussion on the theme of the celebration – “The role of the Diaspora in the revitalisation of Africa”.
Among those on the panel were Dr. Angela Unufe-Kennedy – (UK); Patience Nyange – Kenya/UK; King Ken Aide – (Ireland); Victoria Mkatha – (Denmark); Dr. Jones Lukose – The Netherlands and Anthonia Smith – Nigeria/UK.
The session was moderated by Abeka Salmin Abdallah. For nearly two hours, the subject was discussed on how best the African Diaspora should be engaged in the revitalisation of Africa. There were contributions from the audience and the talks would have continued if not for the main event that needed to start.
The two Masters of Ceremony, Xavier ‘t Zand & Jebi Love from Belgium took charge and immediately started calling the first batch of names for recognition on the night.
These were individuals and businesses or organisations who had in the past 20 years supported The Voice magazine at various levels to accomplish the height that was being celebrated on the night.
The people were full of surprise and excitement for the recognition, some were taken unawares by the recognition which made it more interesting.
The publisher of the Voice magazine, Pastor Amb. Elvis Iruh in his remarks, thanked everyone present but most importantly all those who had shared in the nurturing of the magazine from a one-man product to a worldwide magazine received globally and continued to be supported by people around the world.
He paid tributes to all his past colleagues including those who have departed this world for their immense contribution to making the Voice magazine what it is now.
Chief Engr. Ignacio Campo, Chief Princess (Mrs.) Nwanne Campo and their daughters – Princesses Julia and Chelo Campo, were amongst those that got certificates of appreciation from Pastor Amb. Ndubisi Elvis Iruh.
After his remarks, he introduced the anniversary guest speaker in person of Hon. Dr. Fatoumata Jehumpa Ceesay, former National Speaker, The Gambia National Assembly; former Deputy Speaker, ECOWAS Parliament; former President, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and Founder, Family Rights Advancement & Protection (FRAP).
She spoke on the role and expectations of the African Diaspora towards Africa but she did note that Africa herself has disappointed her Diaspora citizens by not properly engaging them despite the huge remittances each year back to their countries of origin.
She also used the occasion to challenge the Diaspora women to get involved in their various countries politics and let Africa produce more female politicians as they have proven to be better managers.
She was given a special Voice Heroine Award recognition by the publisher, Pastor Elvis Iruh, an award she dedicated to all Diaspora women present at the event. She later took a memorial photo with all the women at the event.
In a similar gesture, Her Excellency, Princess (Mrs.) Nwanne Campo, Osodieme of Awka Kingdom, presented a thank you award to the publisher of The Voice magazine on behalf of Dr. Dawn Willis Foundation based in Kampala, Uganda, for his contribution to humanitarian activities in Uganda and other parts of the world.
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There was live music supplied by East African Sound DJ Crew and Comedian Aboxan Aila from Kenya. The audience of nearly 300 guests were fully entertained, a lot to eat and drink and dance galore. They all went home with goodie bags, courtesy of Unidex BV, a Dutch food distribution company in The Netherlands.
Many of the participants spoken to expressed appreciation to The Voice magazine team and wished to become a member of The Voice magazine family and how to support to the project.
The Voice news magazine is the first Pan African news magazine published in The Netherlands in English language, covering Central Europe, America and Africa spread across the world. The first edition was published on 12th of August 1999.
