Dr. Fareed Arthur (3rd right) and Mrs. Catherine Afeku, (3rd left) in a group photograph with officials from the University of Ghana and the National AfCFTA Coordinating Office
On 29th November 2022, the School of Continuing and Distance Education, College of Education launched the 74thedition of the Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) on the theme “Positioning the African Market for Sustainable Economic Development through AfCFTA” at a very colourful ceremony held at its Smart Classroom.
The School of Continuing and Distance Education, College of Education is collaborating with the National AfCFTA Coordination Office to organise the 74th Annual New Year School & Conference. The long week event will be held at the University of Ghana, Legon campus in Accra, January 17-19, 2023. It will be opened by the Special Guest, President of the Republic, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, 17th January, 2023 at the Great Hall of the University. His Excellency, Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, The African Continental Free Trade Area will be the Keynote Speaker.
The 74th Annual New Year School and Conference will feature a number of thematically organised paper and panel sessions. Themes may include but are not limited to:
Launching of the 74th edition of the Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC)
Prof. Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe delivering the Chairman’s remarks
In his opening remarks, the Provost of the College of Education and Chair of the event, Prof. Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe acknowledged the contribution of the Annual New Year School and Conference in national development. He stated that over the years, the school had considered Ghana’s social architecture and proven strength of intellectual communities in its agenda. “Since its inception, the ANYSC has been a dependable and proven platform for reflection, constructive and engaging conversations and I am hopeful that the 74th edition will positively contribute to innovative strategies and responsive policies that will boost trade on the continent and transform lives,” he added.
Speaking on the theme, Prof. Codjoe said that “although the world is in crisis, it has become extremely important for us to consider policies that can support the continent to emerge even stronger.” He therefore urged individuals to see the current economic crisis as an opportunity to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and do business together. According to him, opportunities abound to boost intra Africa trade now than ever and was optimistic that discussions at the Annual New Year School in January will delve deeper into the complexities of the global crisis to change the continental narrative. Prof. Codjoe also made a call for the School to strengthen research systems for effective monitoring and evaluation of initiatives as well as for policy and practice directions.
Dr. Fareed Arthur, National AfCFTA Coordinator addressing the audience
Launching the event, the National Coordinator of AfCFTA and Special Guest, Dr. Fareed Kwesi Arthur stated that the University of Ghana has a great responsibility in preparing the skills for the future opportunities ahead with a renewed emphasis on trade within Africa. This is a necessary precondition for strong recovery to facilitate the transformation of the economy as well as enabling Ghana to optimise its benefits from the AfCFTA, he said. He noted that the choice of the theme was timely as it provided a platform for individuals to discuss and actively participate in purposeful policy intermediation to boost African’s trading position in the global market, by strengthening African’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.
According to Dr. Arthur, the AfCFTA aims to unite the African economic space into a market with over 1.3 billion people and has been one of the most transformational decisions to emanate from Africa since the establishment of the Organisation of African Union.
Dr. Arthur was hopeful that the 74th Annual New Year School and Conference would serve as a platform for all stakeholders to take a critical look at the huge potential Africa offers instead of always looking to the West for solutions. Considering the rich vegetation and mineral resources in Africa, he mentioned that the AfCFTA is a space for Africans to leverage on its resources to transform their nations.
Prof. Olivia A.T.F. Kwapong, Dean of the School of Continuing and Distance Education delivering her welcome address
Earlier in her welcome address, the Dean of the School of Continuing and Distance Education who also doubles as the Chair of the Planning Committee, Prof. Olivia Kwapong stated that historically, the Annual New Year School and Conference has served as a national forum for dispassionate discussion of issues by the citizenry and resolutions from the school are presented in a communique for policy direction and implementation. “Being a forward-looking event, the New Year School focused on e-governance, e-education, e-health, e-business and e-agriculture in recognition of the key role of ICTs in Ghana’s development agenda from 2013 to 2017 which preceded the discourse and stakeholder engagement on the Ghana Digital Economy Policy in November, 2022,” she said.
A section of participants at the launch
Giving a brief of what participants at the Annual New Year School and Conference should expect from 17th -19th January, 2023, Prof. Kwapong stated that the 74th edition will feature the novel Youth School, an exhibition of local products that could be accessed in Africa’s regional markets, a number of presentations of research papers as well as panel discussions on various sub-themes in business, industry, education, digital technology development among others.
Prof. Kwapong was grateful to the Ministries of Finance, Communication and Trade and Industry and the National AfCFTA Coordination Office for their contribution towards the success of the Annual New Year Schools.
She was thankful to Dr. Fareed Arthur, Mrs. Catherine Afeku, Head of Strategic Communication, National Coordination Office of AfCFTA, Prof. Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe, Provost, College of Education, Mrs. Elizier Ameyaw-Buronyah, Director of Public Affairs at the University of Ghana, Mr. Joseph Oduro Nkansah, College Secretary of the College of Education, participants, faculty, staff and all stakeholders for their presence and support towards the Annual New Year School and Conference and looked forward to exciting and fruitful discussions in January.
She specially recognised the Dr. Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto, Director and Co-chair, Technical Committee of the 73rd and 74th Annual New Year Schools, Mr. Jack Andrews Dotsey, Co-Chair, 73rd and 74th Annual New Year School, School Administrator, Mrs. Regina Afari Boateng, Co-Directors Drs. Ama Adu Marfo and Boadi Agyekum. Staff of the ANYSC Secretariat were also appreciated by Prof. Kwapong.
Also present at the launch were representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Communication, Trade and Industry as well as staff from the National AfCFTA Coordination Office.
Officials from the University community were Mrs. Elizier Ameyaw-Buronyah, Director of Public Affairs at the University of Ghana; Mr. Joseph Oduro Nkansah, College Secretary of the College of Education; Heads of Department, Administrators, Faculty and Staff.
See some photos taken after the event.
