SPEECH BY
PROF. GEORGE T. ODURO
PRO VICE CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST
ON THE OCCASION OF
THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF
CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE-UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST
THEME: GHANA-CHINA IN HARMONY
ALL PROTOCOL OBSERVED:
1. INTRODUCTION
On behalf of the Vice Chancellor, let me welcome you all to this celebration of the first anniversary of our Confucius Institute. It is a deep pleasure for me to be present as Chairman of such a happy event, and I would like to warmly thank the Chinese Ambassador, Her Excellency Sun Bao Hong, whose enthusiastic support has made all this possible; and the Confucius Institute at University of Cape Coast, especially its two Directors, Prof. Kwadwo Opoku-Agyemang, whose creative initiative led to the founding of the Confucius Institute, and Prof. Hu Liangcai, the hard-working Chinese Director. As well, let me thank the faculty and staff of the Institute, for the excellent work they are all doing to raise the profile of our university and our dear nation, and that of our partners, Confucius Institute Headquarters-Hanban, and Hunan City University. Through the work they are doing, they underline the lasting message of our university’s Motto: Veritas Nobis Lumen!
2: BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
Since we are here to celebrate the founding of this budding Confucius Institute, it will be appropriate to recapitulate its nascent story. In 2009 a proposal initiated and written by the then Director of Center for International Education, Prof. Kwadwo Opoku-Agyemang, was submitted to the Confucius Institute (CI) Headquarters by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and its Chinese partner, Hunan City University (HCU), to apply for a Confucius Institute at UCC to promote knowledge of Chinese language and culture in Ghana. That was the beginning. Then, in December 2014, a high-powered delegation of Chinese senior politicians, university academicians and administrators from HCU paid a visit to UCC with the primary mission to revive the project. The proposal was thoroughly revised and re-submitted, and our application was validated. Permission was granted to begin operation of the Confucius Institute at UCC. The Confucius Institute at UCC was, therefore, officially opened on June 2, 2016 with great fanfare. Thus, today we find ourselves here, to mark the first anniversary of our newest Institute.
3: CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE AT UCC
Confucius Institute at UCC offers many avenues of growth to students, staff and faculty through grants, study abroad programs and scholarships. From the beginning, there has been a healthy traffic of faculty, administrators and students between UCC and our partner institution, Hunan City University (HCU). In 2009, UCC received two lecturers in Music and Computer Science from HCU. In the following year, as a way to prepare for the coming of the Confucius Institute, UCC reciprocated by sponsoring two lecturers to HCU to study Chinese language and culture. The the template was set for fruitful exchange.
What does it mean to have a Confucius Institute at UCC, and what do we stand to gain? The benefits of cross-cultural exchange are largely bi-directional, and they speak directly to the historical growth of all civilizations. By opening our curriculum to include Chinese language and culture, therefore, we create opportunities to engage with one of the most influential economic and cultural presence in the world today, China. At a more immediate level, engaging with China through the Confucius Institute allows us to discover new methodologies and approaches that can ultimately re-invigorate and re-purpose our study of our own Ghanaian culture and languages, including even those foreign languages we have historically learnt to tame by domestic usage. For this reason we urge close collaboration between Confucius Institute and our many Language Departments. This is the broad humanistic ideal that incited the creating and crafting of the original proposal leading to the founding of the Confucius Institute at UCC.
CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE IN OUR WORLD
Confucius Institute is a welcome and necessary presence, especially now. One of the principal functions of Confucius Institute is to build bridges across cultural boundaries, to create safe and welcoming spaces where different cultures can meet and interact to the mutual benefit of all.
In Africa today, the promise of democracy is evolving; there are signs of positive growth in justice and fairness, in institutional development, and in a deep adjustment to the challenges of the day. More and more, our leaders are coming to see that the old, closed ways of doing things have to be challenged, and that smart planning hinges on innovation and a robust and balanced system of international cooperation.
Confucius Institute at University of Cape Coast can be seen as one such purposeful way forward. In celebrating Confucius Institute at UCC, therefore, we put on display our wish to build for ourselves and our future an open and successful society in which we enjoy the full benefits of all the cultural and intellectual heritage of the world. The theme of this celebration is Ghana-China in Harmony. I like think that the harmony we seek is based on innovative thinking, cooperation, mutual respect, inclusion and sharing. All this merges seamlessly with the mission and vision of our University.
On behalf of the Vice Chancellor, and on my own behalf, let me wish Confucius Institute at UCC God’s blessings, and endless years of positive growth and profit.
May the good Lord bless us all.