University of Ghana to establish Centre for Asian Studies
THE University of Ghana (UG) will soon establish a centre for the study of Asian culture, policies and best practices to support national growth, the Provost of the College of Humanities of the university, Professor Samuel Agyei-Mensah, has said.
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He said the College had already submitted a proposal for the establishment of the centre.
Professor Agyei-Mensah, who announced this at the opening of the first biennial conference of the Association for Asian Studies in Africa at the Great Hall, Legon, said it was anticipated that such a centre would serve as a platform for nationals from Africa and Asia to acquire the relevant knowledge and exchange scholars.
Participants
The participants, drawn from more than 30 countries in Africa and Asia, are meeting to brainstorm on the collaboration among institutions of learning on the two continents.
“The centre will also serve as a platform for the Government of Ghana to canvass for universities and other institutions to champion the desire cooperation for the rapidly growing Asian region,” he explained.
Professor Agyei-Mensah said the shining example of Asia’s growing economic and political successes called for a tighter relationship and platform to learn about each other, stressing that it was his expectation that when the centre was fully developed, the university would be able to promote the Asian culture and ideas.
Desire for knowledge
He explained that the decision to establish such a centre was the desire for knowledge and understanding of the Asian continent in Africa, and further announced that a chair for Indian Studies was about to be set up at the university, while plans were also underway for the putting up of a house for Confucius Institute within the university.
Knowledge and understanding
Professor Agyei-Mensah said within the global competitive world, “nations and regions cannot remain in silos. We need to understand one another.”
He said that called for knowledge and understanding of the Asian context by Africans and vice versa, stressing that the academia had a critical role to play and was hopeful that the conference would fuel that expectation.
Formal opening
The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor John Gyapong, who formally opened the conference on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ernest Ayittey, stressed the need for people on the two continents to understand one another.
Welcoming the participants, the Acting Director of the Institute of African Studies, Professor Frcancis Dodoo, underscored the importance of the conference and said he was hopeful that it would serve as the beginning of knowledge-sharing between the two continents through institutions of learning.
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