THE Tamale-Louisville Sister-City relationship has been further strengthened with the visit to Tamale by a three-member delegation from Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States of America.
The visit was aimed at realising the objectives of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Jefferson County Public Schools and the Tamale Metropolitan Directorate of Education that was signed in June 2008 as part of the Sister-City relationship. The visit will also deepen areas of cooperation regarding socio-economic and cultural issues between the two cities.
Each member of the delegation had a specific goal to achieve to ensure that the overall objectives of the Sister-City relationship were realised.
The members were Mr Aukram Burton, the Diversity and Multicultural Education Specialist of the Jefferson County Public Schools, the Associate Director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice, Madam Stacy Bailey-Ndiaye and the Associate Professor of Theatre of the University of Louisville, Madam Nefertiti Burton.
Mr Burton told the Daily Graphic that his visit would also focus on how best to assess the needs of educational institutions in the metropolis, saying his specific mandate was to enhance international education through online and face-to-face communication.
He said that for now it was feasible to focus on online communication for both primary and junior high schools (JHSs).
He observed that most schools in the metropolis did not have the necessary infrastructure in place to facilitate exchange of programmes.
Mr Burton, however, noted that two schools in the metropolis, namely Tamale International School (TIS) and Dan Shelli Primary had been selected by the team for exchange programmes.
According to the specialist, the TIS was linked to the Brown School in Louisville while Dan Shelli was linked to the Foster Academy in the same city.
The benefits of such initiative were not far-fetched as the pupils would be allowed to develop a list of pen pals, share information and pictures with their colleagues in Louisville, while teachers in Tamale could also have the opportunity to link up with their colleagues in Louisville, Mr Burton stated.
Madam Bailey-Ndiaye said she was in Tamale to explore the possibility of implementing an exchange programme between the University for Development Studies (UDS) and the Muhammad Ali Institute of Peace and Justice.
She said the programme would hopefully start in May next year.
Madam Bailey-Ndiaye indicated that peace building was not about conflict alone but also social development.
She stated that the team was so far impressed with the warm reception accorded them by residents, including the Mayor of Tamale, Alhaji Abdulai Haruna Friday, and the Regional Minister, Mr Stephen Nayina.
Madam Nefertiti said since 1995 the University of Louisville had had cordial relations with the UDS but stated that it was on a low key.
“I am here to revive that relationship, and there is a memorandum of understanding between my outfit and the UDS to make things work for the two institutions” she said.
According to her, publishing of joint research papers and co-authoring of research articles were some of the programmes that would be initiated.
Madam Nefertiti equally announced plans by her outfit to establish an exchange programme with the UDS, where performing artistes from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville would visit the UDS and share knowledge with its students and lecturers.
The delegation also commended the Daily Graphic for its fair and balanced reportage, although they agreed that the company equally had its own challenges and lapses.
The Tamale-Louisville Sister-City relationship and linkage agreement was initiated and signed in 1979 through the efforts of Alhaji Rahim Gbadamosi and a group of interested African-Americans that he met on a visit to Louisville in 1978.
No comments:
Post a Comment