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Confucius Institute celebrates 16th UN Chinese Language Day

22 Apr, 2025 By DIS

The Confucius Institute (CI) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has marked the 16th United Nations Chinese Language Day celebration on the theme: “Chinese Language: A Gift Across Time and Space.”

 The celebration, in collaboration with the Central Regional Coordinating Council was aimed at promoting the Chinese language and fostering cultural exchange.

This year, the Confucius Institute at UCC commemorated the day at one of its Confucius Classrooms, Penuel International School, which is located at Kasoa.

Penuel International School signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CIUCC in 2018 and has since incorporated Chinese Language into its curriculum.

The celebration was attended by dignitaries including the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Tong Defa; the Central Regional Director of Education, Emmanuel Essuman; the President of Ghana Overseas Chinese Federation, Mr Tang Hong; China and Ghana directors of the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast and teachers and students of the Grace Field International School, as well as Aburaman Senior High School.

Speaking at the function, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, said the Chinese language served not only as a bridge for communication but also for invigorating educational and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Ghana.

Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, HE Tong Defa

He noted that by the end of 2023, over 85 countries had integrated Chinese language into their national education systems, with more than 180 countries teaching Chinese worldwide.

“More than 30 million people outside of China are learning Chinese, and a total of nearly 200 million people have learnt or used Chinese.

He praised a student of UCC, Miss. Lilian Ama Serwaa Tobias, for emerging as the winner of the 23rd Chinese Bridge Competition at the tertiary level for the year 2024.

The Ambassador noted that three Confucius Institutes had been established in Ghana, currently enrolling 15,000 students and providing Chinese language instruction to over 150,000 students in total.

He further encouraged Ghanaian students to take the Chinese language seriously.

“Learning Chinese will bring you more opportunities in the future. We will surely see a lot of you become civilian ambassadors of Ghana to China and contribute to deepening our bilateral relations,” he added.

Ambassador Tong commended the teachers and volunteers at the Confucius Institutes for their contributions to Chinese language education and cultural promotion.

He acknowledged the students for their achievements, encouraging them to work harder to achieve better results and to meet the high expectations in their educational journey.

Students in a performance at the event

The Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Ou Yamei encouraged the students to study Chinese at the institute and experience the profound Chinese culture.

She said the celebration was an opportunity for students to learn the Chinese language and develop interest among the pupils in the language.

The Central Regional Director of Education, Mr. Emmanuel Essuman, in a remark, noted that learning Chinese would create job opportunities in Chinese companies operating in Ghana and the Directorate would support Confucius Institute to achieve its mission in Ghana.

In 2010, the UN Department of Public Information established the day, with the aim "to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity, as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organisation”.

April 20 was chosen as the date to pay tribute to Cangjie, a mythical figure who is presumed to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

 

UCC and FAO Host Seminar on Mapping of Farmers Markets in Ghana

17 Apr, 2025 By DIS

The School of Agriculture in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has organized a seminar aimed at establishing a clear definition of farmers' markets in Ghana and exploring the various forms they take across the country.

The event, themed “Mapping of Farmers’ Markets in Ghana Project,” brought together participants from the Central Regional Coordinating Council, the Central Region Apex Farmers Association (CRAFA), as well as farmers and consumers within the Central Region.

In his welcome address, the Dean of the School of Agriculture, Prof. Henry De-Graft Acquah, expressed his delight in the collaboration between UCC, CRAFA and FAO. He commended the stakeholders for organising such a significant seminar aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the Farmers Market initiative, which commenced in October 2021.

Coordinator of UCC project team, Dr. Selorm Akaba, delivered a presentation on “Mapping of Farmers Markets in Ghana.” He indicated that Ghana was a founding member of the World Farmers Market Coalition, which was supported by the UN-FAO Food Coalition in 2020. He further noted that the first Farmers Market was a collaborative effort involving researchers and practitioners from UCC, the Central Regional Coordinating Council, CRAFA, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), including the Central Regional Department of Agriculture.

A group photo of participants in the seminar

Dr. Akaba outlined the benefits of the Farmers Market, stating that it will “ensure a high level of trust between farmers and consumers and reduce traceability cost in the value chain.” He acknowledged that the Farmers Market also faced challenges, such as high labour costs and scarcity of resources. “That is why there is a need to come together to pull resources into this project,” he added. He further explained that the objective was to “test the Methodology and Study Models of Farmers market in Ghana.”

Ms Valentina Sommacal, Rural Institutions and Services Expert at the FAO, commended Ghana and UCC for taking the lead on this initiative in Africa.  She also reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to the programme.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Denis Worlanyo Aheto, assured participants of the University’s full support for the project.

“The university is strongly behind this project initiative. Initiatives like this have a high potential to train farmers and therefore need to be applauded,” he stated.

During a breakout session, participants were divided into four groups and assigned the task of developing definitions for farmers' markets and identifying the different forms they take across the country. One of the definitions that emerged from the group discussions described a farmers’ market as "a group of farmers selling to consumers in a specific area, which does not necessarily have to be a physical location."

Source: Documentation and Information Section - UCC

 

 

 

Pro Vice-Chancellor interacts with Prof. Terry Sunderland

11 Apr, 2025 By DIS

The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Denis Aheto, has met with Prof. Terry Sunderland of the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Canada, at his office.

During the meeting, the two leaders, with other guests, engaged in cordial conversations regarding student and faculty exchanges, joint research, and capacity building.

The discussions also touched on how Prof. Sunderland’s Department could partner with the Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR) at UCC to achieve sustainable management and use of the coastal environment through training of human resources and engaging in demand-driven research to support coastal policy development in Africa.

Prof. Sunderland indicated that his Department envisions a cordial relationship between the two units for their mutual benefit.

Pro Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Denis Aheto and Prof. Terry Sunderland of the University of British Columbia, Canada

For his part, Prof. Aheto walked Prof. Terry Sunderland through the inception of ACECoR and how it provides an enabling environment for both students and faculty, as well as researchers from all over the continent and beyond to work assiduously at reversing the rapid degradation of coastal and marine environments occurring in Africa. 

 “Though very young, the Centre has a multi-national and multi-cultural student community drawn from eight African countries, including Ghana. Currently, 32% of the Centre’s students are from other countries in Africa. ACECoR endeavours to let students feel at home while pursuing rigorous academic work. The staff and students of the Centre have a strong bond of relationship, with a great sense of community and shared purpose,” he added.

The meeting was attended by some staff and students of ACECoR.

Source: Documentation and Information Section

 

Climate Change Advisors Ghana donates plastic bins to UCC

11 Apr, 2025 By DIS

A not-for-profit organisation, Climate Change Advisors Ghana, has donated two plastic collection bins to the University of Cape Coast (UCC) to help deal with the plastic waste menace.

The Co-founder of CCAG, Mr. Peter A. Doh, said the organisation promotes climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and activities.

Therefore, the CCAG was providing the plastic collection bins for collecting plastic waste on campus, and later, the Environmental Protection Agency would transport it to the recycling centres.

Present at the meeting were a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Animal Science at UCC, Dr. Samuel Ofori, and other members of the CCAG.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Denis Aheto, expressed gratitude to CCA Ghana for the donation and said that while some effort was being made to efficiently manage the waste, many plastics end up in the sea, ultimately affecting one of the critical economic livelihood support sectors, the fisheries industry.

He said the coastal communities and fishermen had their nets catching a lot of plastic instead of fish most of the time. That, he indicated, had worrying effects on their livelihoods. He further explained that the plastics that found their way into the water bodies released microplastics into the water, thus affecting aquatic life.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

 

Basic school teachers, SISO undergo Leadership Training

11 Apr, 2025 By DIS

A two-day workshop aimed at empowering heads of  Public and Private Basic schools and School Improvement and Support Officers (SISOs) on leadership skills has ended at the University of Cape Coast.

Organised by the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA), the participants were taken through exemplary leadership, learning-focused management, intensive practical sessions on role modelling, and practical learning.

Participants were also trained in how to engage and collaborate with their communities, how to mobilise resources, among other skills, for the smooth implementation of their visions.

The training formed part of activities marking IEPA’s 50th anniversary and its five years as a UNESCO Category II Centre of Excellence.

In his opening remarks ahead of the training, the Director-General of the IEPA, Prof. Michael Boakye-Yiadom, indicated that effective school leadership was a prerequisite for achieving learning outcomes.

To him, school leadership must be focused on ensuring academic and skills development rather than mere administrative work.

Putting premium on practical learning, the Director-General enjoined participants to involve industry practitioners in the teaching and learning process to enable students acquire practical skills.

Prof. Boakye-Yiadom admitted that the government alone could not channel funds for resource mobilization training and, therefore, school heads should learn innovative methods on how to raise resources to support their activities.

“We are intentionally encouraging and supporting them with the capacity to lead fundraising activities for their school to aid in teaching and learning,” he added.

Some of the participants in the workshop

He urged participants to take advantage of the networking opportunities available and expressed the Institute’s commitment to engaging more heads and teachers in the region to advance education.

The Deputy Central Regional Director of Education, Madam Harriet Oduraa Idun Sagoe, stressed the need for effective leadership in teaching and learning and admitted that a lot of heads of schools were appointed without practical leadership training.

“In Ghana, a lot of us focus on money when we are getting positions. So, if the person is made to understand that whatever they have to offer is prominent, it is going to solve a lot of issues in our schools,” she added.

Madam Sagoe lauded IEPA for the training and appealed to them to expand its reach to cover other parts of the region, while urging participants to apply the knowledge acquired in their respective schools.

A beneficiary of the training, the Headteacher of the Ankaful M/A Basic School, Mr. Eric Asante, said the training had taught them more effective ways to deal with indiscipline among students, as misbehaviour had become a scourge.

Another beneficiary, Madam Philomena Charlotte Forson, called for periodic organisation of such workshops to sharpen the skills of participants and added that the school curriculum as well as students’ behaviour were changing consistently, and therefore periodic training had become imperative.

The facilitators included Rev Father Raymond C Tangonyere and Prof. Bro. Michael Amakye, both from IEPA.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

GOT Project Members Commence Knowledge-Sharing Workshop on Digitalization at UCC

09 Apr, 2025 By DIS

Faculty members from the College of Education Studies (CoES) at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), who benefited from the Erasmus Getting on Together (GOT) Project, have commenced a three-day workshop designed to share the knowledge and skills they acquired in digitalization and pedagogy with their colleagues.

The Erasmus GOT project is a collaborative initiative involving UCC, the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Tampere University in Finland, and Tallinn University in Estonia. The project focuses on equipping faculty members with digital skills to enhance effective teaching and learning across institutions. Through this initiative, selected faculty from UCC and UEW received specialized training in digitalization.

The first day of the workshop, which targeted faculty members from the Faculty of Science and Technology Education, was centered on the theme, “Use of Emerging Technology in Higher Education.”

Four presentations were delivered by Dr. Isaac Benning, Dr. Nelly Abaidoo, Dr. Bernard Wiafe Akaadom, and Dr. Samuel Agyeman-Duah.

Dr. Isaac Benning led a session on “Leveraging Gemini AI and Khan Academy for Classroom Use.” He guided participants on how to use Gemini AI to prepare lecture notes and generate audio from slides to facilitate teaching. As part of the session, he helped all participants create their own Gemini AI accounts and practiced using the tool effectively.

One of the presentation sessions

Dr. Nelly Abaidoo’s presentation focused on the use of technology in student assessment. She introduced Mentimeter, a widely used assessment tool, and demonstrated how it could be used for quick and effective assessment. She also provided practical guidance on its application, emphasizing its relevance in modern classroom settings.

Speaking on “Using Technology in Research,” Dr. Bernard Wiafe Akaadom highlighted the advantages of using AI tools in academic research. “AI tools like Copilot AI and ChatGPT can help you to review your students’ research work quickly and also give them a swift response,” he emphasized.

Dr. Samuel Agyeman-Duah concluded the day with a presentation on “Preparing Engaging Presentations.” He encouraged lecturers to constantly improve their classroom delivery, noting that technology, especially AI, could be a valuable aid. “In making your slides for presentation, remember that less is always more, so focus on one idea per slide,” he advised.

Dr. Christopher Yarkwah, the Principal Investigator for UCC, praised the presenters for their outstanding delivery and stressed the importance of propagating the knowledge gained from the Erasmus GOT training to other faculty members.

“We look forward to training more than 100 faculty members in UCC, starting from the College of Education Studies,” he highlighted.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

 

 

University JHS commemorates Ghana Month with Traditional Day Celebration

07 Apr, 2025 By DIS

In the spirit of celebrating Ghanaian culture and tradition, the University Junior High School, University of Cape Coast, has held a Traditional Day Celebration.

The day was used to showcase the traditional clothes of the various ethnic groups in the country to inculcate in the pupils the need to value the Ghanaian traditional fashion. The students made merry with traditional Ghanaian dishes and beverages.

The celebration was in line with ‘Ghana Month,’ a month-long celebration dedicated to recognizing and promoting Ghana's rich cultural heritage. Celebrated in March each year, it is to foster national pride and unity. 

Headmistress of UJHS, Mrs Eleanor Onyame, addressing the students

At the ceremony, the pupils dressed in the traditional attire of the various tribes in the country and performed some traditional dances.

The Headmistress, Mrs Eleanor Onyame, said it was important to imbibe in children the African and Ghanaian way of dressing.

She said that the way people dress defines “who they are and where they are coming from," hence, pupils must be taught and encouraged to dress in their traditional attire during specific occasions.

Some students during a performance

Mrs Onyame said the school would continue to teach the children to appreciate their cultural values.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

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