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Diaspora Diplomats: Reception Celebrating Atlanta’s African Consular Corps
December 9, 2024
Constellations – 135 Auburn Avenue NE
Five African diplomats, three of them newly appointed, gathered with about 80 Global Atlanta Passport members and other community attendees for a reception downtown celebrating the continent’s contributions to the growth of the Georgia consular corps.
Three new countries added to the corps in 2024 included Botswana, Ghana and Zambia, each of them appointing an honorary consul to represent their interests in the state. The Nigerian consulate, which covers 16 states from Georgia, was represented by Ambassador Auwalu Jega Namadina, who took up his post earlier in 2024. C. Jack Ellis, a former mayor of Macon, Ga., and the longtime Ugandan honorary consul in the state, represented his East African country.
After a period of networking, each consul took the podium to be introduced to the community. Each received a gift from presenting sponsor Ethiopian Airlines and a care package from Civil Sights, a forthcoming book highlighting the people and places that make Sweet Auburn, the historic neighborhood where the event was hosted, Atlanta’s national treasure — one that needs to be preserved for future generations.
Nico Wijnberg, Georgia’s chief of protocol, laid out in opening remarks how the consular corps sets up the state for global business success.
Key Takeaways:
- Ethiopian Airlines flies to 65 destinations in Africa, bringing closer a continent that is already connected to Atlanta by air links and diaspora connections and to Savannah through port partnerships
- Georgia was urged to consider opening an Africa trade office to foster exports and help ensure the U.S. doesn’t fall further behind China in an investment race that features minerals and infrastructure
- Atlanta could see more Diaspora Diplomat activity in 2025, as large countries leveraging ongoing engagements with the city, namely Kenya and South Africa, have yet to open outposts here
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Speakers
DIPLOMATS:
Anna Ndashe Katema Banda, Honorary Consul of Zambia
Ambassador Auwalu Jega Namadina, Consul General of Nigeria
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Yvonne Horsley McCowin, Honorary Consul of Ghana
Naana Frimpong, Honorary Consul of Botswana
C. Jack Ellis, Honorary Consul of Uganda
We’re the beating heart of the Southeast, and as of last year, the Southeast U.S. overtook the Northeast as the biggest economic region in the U.S.
Nico Wijnberg, Chief of Protocal at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, said to applause from the crowd
