The Next Steps Reparations Summit: A Reenactment at Osu Castle
A documentary-grade reenactment of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, staged at Osu Castle on 19 June for the NEXT STEPS Reparations Summit before an audience of ambassadors, ministers, and international dignitaries.
Osu Castle, Accra, Ghana
The Challenge
Stage a historically and emotionally weighted reenactment of the Transatlantic Slave Trade at Osu Castle — a site with direct historical significance — for a diplomatic summit audience, without reducing the subject to spectacle.
Context
The production was commissioned as the centerpiece cultural moment of the NEXT STEPS Reparations Summit, a diplomatic gathering convened at Osu Castle on 19 June to address the legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the case for reparative justice.
Research
GADEC's creative team grounded the production in historical research into the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Osu Castle's role within it, working to ensure the reenactment was historically accurate and respectful of the site's significance.
Creative Direction
The creative direction balanced documentary realism with the emotional and ceremonial weight the subject demanded — treating the reenactment as an act of historical witness rather than theatrical entertainment.
Design
Costume, staging, and lighting design were built around the physical geography of Osu Castle itself, using the site's own architecture as the backdrop for the reenactment rather than a constructed set.
Execution
GADEC's production team delivered the reenactment live at Osu Castle, coordinating performers, historical staging, and logistics on-site for a diplomatic audience.
Audience
Ambassadors, government ministers, and international dignitaries attending the NEXT STEPS Reparations Summit.
Impact
The reenactment became the summit's defining cultural moment — translating the historical argument for reparations into a lived, witnessed experience for the diplomatic audience present at Osu Castle.
Results
GADEC established itself as a production partner capable of delivering historically grounded, diplomatically sensitive cultural productions at the highest level of international convening.