Yale builds sustainable partnerships in Ghana
Yale University alumni and students will visit Ghana this summer to develop new partnerships and strengthen existing collaborations.
Alumni and students will join African leaders in Accra on July 13 during the Yale-Ghana Symposium, co-sponsored by the Afro American Cultural Center at Yale and the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA).
The symposium, which is open to the public, will feature a West African alumni panel sponsored by the Yale Black Alumni Association. Titled “Creating Connections & Building Partnerships in the African Diaspora,” the panel will include alumni, students, and industry leaders from several countries, who will explore how Yale can collaborate with African institutions to build sustainable partnerships and support current student and alumni interests in Africa.
Panelists will include His Royal Majesty Drolor Bosso Adamtey I, traditional ruler of the ethnic Shai (Se) people, and chair of First Banc and TV3; Emelia Arthur, an alumna of the Yale World Fellows program and deputy regional minister, Western Regional Coordinating Council; Efe Chantal Ghanney, a Yale student and an alumna of Ghana International School; and Ken Ofori-Atta, chair and co-founder of Databank. The full list of speakers and biographical information is available at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3783739266
Following the panel, the inaugural Sylvia Ardyn Boone Lecture will be delivered by Bisa Williams, ambassador to the Republic of Niger. The lecture commemorates the late Yale art historian who was among the African-American expatriates who worked in Ghana 50 years ago. Boone earned a doctorate from Yale in 1979, and in 1988 she became the first African-American woman to receive tenure at Yale
For program schedule and registration information visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3783739266
Later in the summer, over 150 Yale alumni, family, and friends will visit the communities of Yamoransa and Accra in Ghana to participate in the Yale Alumni Service Corps’ first program in Africa July 27–Aug. 7. The next service trip to Africa is slated for 2013.
“Yale cherishes the rich heritages of its alumni all over the world,” said Nicholas Lewis, director of Shared Interest Groups for AYA. “By engaging faculty, students, and alumni, we anticipate that the University’s collaborations in Ghana and the broader African diaspora will grow substantially in the future.”
Among Yale’s current partnerships with Ghana is the Global Health Leadership Institute Conference (GHLI), which convenes senior health practitioners from around the world to facilitate collaborative solutions in strengthening health systems. Delegates from Ghana have participated GHLI since its inception at Yale in 2009. Vice President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana was honored at Yale during the 2011 conference for the country’s contributions to the program.
Yale is also a partner in the International Training Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, launched with the Noguchi Institute at the University of Ghana in 2007. The collaboration builds research capacity through educating students and postdoctoral fellows in laboratory techniques and principles of research in the field of infectious diseases, and cultivates a community of young scientists dedicated to alleviating the global health burden of infectious diseases. The University of Sao Paolo (Brazil) and King Saud University (Saudi Arabia) are also partners in the program.
Additionally, in 2007, the University established “Bulldogs in Ghana” a summer internship program in Ghana for Yale undergraduates.
