In October, the United Nations University held sessions of its Global Seminar seris in two African countries: Namibia and Ghana.

Participants at the UNU Global Seminar in Namibia, October 2009. Photo: Simon Wilkie Photography.

The seminar in Windhoek, Namibia, was hosted by the University of Namibia, from October 12 to 14. The theme of this session was “Africa’s Natural Resources: From Conflict to Sustainable Development”. The seminar was attended by 40 students. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Namibia, Professor Lazarus Hangula, delivered a keynote speech; five other lectures were delivered by selected African scholars: Ben Okolo (South Africa), Victor Ojakorotu (South Africa), Martin Rupiya (Zimbabwe), Pempelani Mufune (Namibia) and Martha Mwandingi (UNDP, Namibia).

The seminar in Ghana was hosted by the University of Ghana, Legon, from October 20 to 22. The theme of this session was “Strategies for Sustainable Development and the Pressures of Globalization: Policy Challenges in Africa”. Fifty students attended the seminar. The Dean of Engineering Sciences at the University of Ghana, Professor S. Sefa-Dedeh, delivered the keynote speech; 5 other lectures where delivered by invited African scholars: Kwame A. Domfeh (Ghana), A. Essuman-Johnson (Ghana), Kofi Quashigah (Ghana), Florence Adjei (Ghana) and Okey Ilofulunwa (Nigeria).

Both seminars were facilitated by Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Academic Programme Officer, UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP), who gave a presentation on the objectives of the UNU global seminars and supervised the group discussion and presentation by the students.