Conference

The Aya Centre is announcing its
Second Tri-Annual Conference on the following theme:

Studying Abroad in the Republic of Ghana:
New Directions in Service Learning and Community Development

February 23-27, 2011 

Mensvic Grand Hotel / East Legon (Greater Accra), Ghana

About the Conference:

Service Learning and community development are two of the most dynamic areas within the field of international education.  These days, students who apply for study abroad programs are less interested in just sitting in classrooms for long hours or simply taking long field trips to visit the wide variety of historical and contemporary sites most countries have to offer.  Instead, students who study abroad today are more interested in learning by doing, i.e., working in areas related to their academic interests and/or contributing their time, talent, knowledge and labour towards helping communities help themselves.  Moreover, by working alongside their foreign counterparts and/or other local residents in foreign lands, students are better able to immerse themselves, culturally, into the countries they visit. 

The Republic of Ghana offers an incredible array of opportunities for foreign students, and all other members of the academy, to learn, by doing, in a wide variety of service learning programs and community development projects—all of which include experiences in both the classroom and the field.  This conference, then, is designed to bring these engaging and transformative opportunities to the attention of the global community.  Through presentations, discussions, dialogue, debates, site visits, and excursions we are planning for conference attendees to return to their institutions better informed and with a greater appreciation of exactly how their students can benefit from a service learning and/or community development experience in Ghana.

We will make no effort to conceal any of the challenges foreign students may face in their experiences in Ghana.  Instead, we are planning for this conference to offer a fresh and open discussion on as many of the concrete issues facing foreign students who are engaged in the service learning and community development experience in Ghana as possible.

Towards this end, we are calling on all international educational ‘stakeholders’ to join us in Ghana between February 23-27, 2011!!!