The Mbaasem Foundation is a foundation established by Ghanaian writer

Ama Ata Aidoo Ama Ata Aidoo (23 March 1942 — 31 May 2023) was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, politician, and academic. She was a Secretary for Education in Ghana from 1982 to 1983 under Jerry Rawlings's PNDC administration. Her first play, '' The Dil ...

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

, Ghana, in 2000. It is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting and promoting the work of African women writers,"Welcome To Mbaasem"
Mbaasem Foundation. to "establish and maintain a writing place for women". In 2002 the rented headquarters of the foundation was "likened to the transformation of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

's home in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

into a literary haven and museum". The Foundation states its mission as being "To support the development and sustainability of African women writers and their artistic output", and as its goal: "To create an enabling environment for women to write, tell and publish their stories."

History

In January 2000 Ama Ata Aidoo started an initiative called Mbaasem (meaning "women’s words, women’s affairs" in

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

) based in Accra, Ghana, with the goal of building a women writers' centre and residency. Subsequently incorporated as a registered non-governmental organization, the Mbaasem Foundation reflects the mission of its founder "to develop and support the sustainability of the work of African women writers who are usually sidelined in the industry". In 2012 Mbaasem launched a three-year project to develop a literacy manifesto to improve the literacy rate within Ghana. Other activities include organizing the "Mbaasem Writing Contest for Girls", funded by the US Embassy of Ghana and

The Royal Bank ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

Ltd, with GHC 1000 as the top prize. The Mbaasem Foundation has also been involved in international conferences for women writers. In 2013, it collaborated with the Organization of Women Writers of Africa (OWWA),

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(NYU), and the Spanish Fundación Mujeres por África (Women for Africa Foundation) to present a major conference in Accra, ''Yari Yari Ntoaso: Continuing the Dialogue – An International Conference on Literature by Women of African Ancestry'', held from 16 to 19 May. Ghanaian writers and scholars including Ama Ata Aidoo,

Amma Darko Amma Darko (born 1956) is a Ghanaian novelist. She won The Golden Baobab Prize for one of her novels. She has published seven novels in total. Life and writing She was born in Koforidua, Ghana, and grew up in Accra. She studied in Kumasi, whe ...

Ruby Goka Ruby Yayra Goka (born 15 May 1982, Accra) is a Ghanaian dentist and author. She is best known for being a multiple Burt Award for African Literature winner in Ghana. Goka, who is an alumnus of the University of Ghana Dental School, currently hea ...

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Esi Sutherland-Addy Esi Sutherland-Addy is a Ghanaian academic, writer, educationalist, and human rights activist. She is a professor at the Institute of African Studies, where she has been senior research fellow, head of the Language, Literature, and Drama Section ...

and

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

were invited to speak at the event, and among notable participants from other parts of the world who attended were

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

of the USA, Tess Onwueme of Nigeria,

Natalia Molebatsi Natalia Molebatsi is a South African writer, poet, performer, editor, and cultural organizer. Biography Natalia Molebatsi was born and raised in the township of Tembisa, near Johannesburg in South Africa.Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro (born 29 October 1970) is a Puerto Rican novelist, short-story writer and essayist. Biography Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro was born on 29 October 1970 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and was raised by her grandparents, Petronila Car ...

of Puerto Rico,

Véronique Tadjo Véronique Tadjo (born 1955) is a writer, poet, novelist, and artist from Ivory Coast, Côte d'Ivoire. Having lived and worked in many countries within the African continent and African diaspora, diaspora, she feels herself to be Pan-Africanism, ...

of Côte d'Ivoire, and

Évelyne Trouillot Évelyne Trouillot (born January 2, 1954) is a Haitian author, writing in French and Creole. Biography Évelyne Trouillot was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 2, 1954. She was the daughter of Ernst Trouillot and Anne-Marie Morisset. After c ...

of Haiti.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Official website
Creative writing programs Women's organisations based in Ghana 2000 establishments in Ghana Organizations established in 2000 Organisations based in Accra