President Obama made his first ever official trip to the African continent last week – on July 10th and 11th, when he traveled to Ghana.  Obama visit to Ghana is all the more commendable as the US President has not traveled to India or China as yet, since occupying the Oval Office.

iridium Interactive was selected as the PRIVILEGED Web Partner by Google, to commemorate this historic presidential visit. The Ministry of Tourism of Ghana teamed up with Google to release a new website as part of the Ministry’s contribution to President Obama’s visit to Ghana on the 10th and 11th of July 2009.

The challenge for iridium Interactive was to come up with ways and means to highlight and showcase the various technologies on the new website. The time at hand, was also short – as the Project was conceptualized and executed over a 72 hour period – before the US President landed in Ghana. The tight deadline had to simply be adhered to – as this was not just another website being launched. There was no option to postpone the GO LIVE date!

The successful completion of the project required the closely coordinated working of the Development Team of iridium Interactive, with the key personnel of Google in India, Ghana and the USA.  Additionally, the Ghana Government Staff, were also involved and championing this prestigious project.

The special site was conceptualized and built – with leads to Google Maps, Virtual tours, Images and Videos of various places and events in Ghana. . This Website provided an exciting addition to the existing wealth of information on the Ministries official site www.touringghana.com with extensive information on places of interest, restaurants and accommodations as well as festivals, eco-tourism and much more.

The site gives a pictorial tour on Google Earth of key landmarks along the Slave route in Ghana. It covers Gwollu in North West Ghana where a refuge from the infamous slave raids was created (two circular walls) by the people of Gwollu and surrounding villages. Then on to Salaga Market, a major slave market with the slave wells and cemeteries now turned into shrines. Next to Donko Nsuo in……, the Slave River at Assin Manso where the slaves had their last bath prior to leaving the shores of Africa. The tour ends at Cape Coast Castle, now identified as a World Heritage monument by the UNESCO World Heritage Foundation with the final doorway of no return.
Another attraction is a Google Maps mash-up that covers various locations that President Obama and Michelle visited during their trip to Ghana. This tour  provided fresh updates of events as they happened, including links to videos via YouTube that  kept the map fresh and interesting. Locations featured include Kotoka International Airport, the Osu Castle where President Obama met with Professor Atta Mills, the President of Ghana, Cape Coast Castle and the Independence Square in Accra, where President Obama met with the people of Ghana.

This speedy completion of this project would not have been possible without the close working of the teams across continents and across organizations and governments.

For more specific information visit www.obamavisitsghana.com.

President Obama’s Speech on July 11, 2009:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-the-Ghanaian-Parliament/

President Obama’s Ghana visit on the Official White House site:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/

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