Celebrating African Diversity

Nov 30, 2018

Academic City hosted its first student-led Celebration of African Diversity Day on November 16, 2018, to promote an appreciation of the different cultures and backgrounds present on its campus. As 50% of its student body is made up of non-Ghanaian citizens, the entire community, which also included faculty and staff, celebrated the approximately twenty countries represented at Academic City through cultural and musical performances, dressing, and cuisine.

Students also unearthed their talents in singing, dancing, poetry recital, and spoken word, whose themes were centred on promoting an understanding of the different people and cultures on the campus. These activities were complemented by a robotics display, short speeches, and a fashion show. There was also a panel discussion moderated by Isaac Appiah ’22, which sought to examine China in Africa as a force for good. The panellists for this topic were Dr Fred McBagonluri, President and Provost of Academic City, David Agyeman Duah, Faculty Member, Melissa Penyai Class of 22, and Felix Apetorgbor, Class or 22, who shared great insights on the topic.

Students from Central University also partook in the event; “an opportunity that enabled Academic City’s students to build a network with students from different institutions,” said Linda, Faculty, Department of Social Sciences, who significantly contributed to the programme’s organization.

“The most memorable part of this event was watching us [students] work effectively in teams to overcome the challenges to successfully execute an event,” said Kelvin Owusu Class of 2022.

“By celebrating our diversity, we were able to bring to the fore some common threads that highlighted our shared values and cultures, to let students feel proud of their diverse heritage,” said Dr Ransford Antwi, Head of the Social Sciences Department, and program lead. “This event was an extracurricular activity that unearthed the creative talents of our students as we sought to enrich one another through the recognition of our differences to catapult them into a united front. We look forward to having many more sessions as the years roll by,” he added.

Originally published at acity.edu.gh.