Ghana Field Trip to the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office

On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, Webster University Ghana International Relations students accompanied by the Head of Department, Dr. Felix Danso, Campus Director, Christa Sanders and faculty member Paola Pasquali, visited the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Accra. The purpose of the trip was to enhance students’ knowledge of the role of the UN in Ghana in helping to bridge the development gap between countries in the Global North and countries in the Global South.

The team leader at the Resident Coordinator (RC) office, Mr. John Keating, began on behalf of Mr. Charles Abani - the Resident Coordinator of the UN in Ghana - and discussed the structure of the UN. Mr. Charles Abani then spoke about several issues including the United Nation’s role in Africa, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the challenges Ghana is facing, governance issues in Africa and its relationship with development, technology and Africa, industrialization in Africa, development financing for African countries among others. According to him, the key aim of the RC office in Ghana is to achieve a WISER GHANA – an acronym that stands for a Wealthier, Inclusive, Sustainable, Environmentally friendly, and Resilient Ghana.

Webster Ghana International Relations students, both undergraduate and graduate levels, were also introduced to the Youth Leaders Fellowship Program (YoLe), which provides a pathway for young people who wish to start a career within the UN and are dedicated to development issues. The visit concluded with an opportunity for students to ask questions which centered around development and sustainability, whether culture is an impediment in Africa’s development, global politics, inequality and the marginalization of Africa, gender and development issues in Africa, how Africa can develop beyond aid, Africa and technology and the recent coups in the West African sub-region.