Vice-Chancellor Opens the 8th Ghana Universities Debate Championship
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, has opened the 8th Ghana Universities Debate Championship (GUDC) at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana (UG).
Mrs. Emelia Agyei Mensah, Registrar, welcoming the participants and guests, stated UG was proud to host the 8th edition of the GUDC. She indicated that this year’s championship promises to be exciting, and it will provide our students the platform to analyse pressing matters that affect our nation and also engage in constructive discourse. We are pleased the momentum has been sustained and indeed has grown over the years, with Ghana being recognized as a force to reckon with in the arena of student debate on the African continent and the world stage.
Mrs. Emelia Agyei Mensah, Registrar, University of Ghana
The Director of Sports, Patron of GUDA and the Co-Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Bella Bello Bitugu, chronicled the journey of the association and the championship, the empowerment it has given and continues to give students and the successes chalked. He attested to the rapid and timeless importance that soft skills such as critical thinking and public speaking hold in the world today, with students increasingly needing to learn more outside of their predetermined curricular activities.
Dr. Bella Bello Bitugu, Director of Sports, University of Ghana
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo added that the theme for this year’s championship, Thinking global, acting local; celebrating excellence while shaping the future, was a timely one. ‘The issues that confront us, on the one hand, are global. Covid-19, climate change and issues arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict all have a local impact on our socioeconomic activities. It is therefore important that as a nation we think through these issues, discuss them before moving into action, knowing what exactly we ought to do’, the Vice-Chancellor stated.
She acknowledged the efforts and sacrifices made by past and present debate students as well as internal and external stakeholders of UG who have contributed immensely to the growth of the Ghana Universities Debate Association (GUDA) and the championship.
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana
The Minister for Youth and Sports, Honourable Mustapha Ussif (MP), congratulated GUDA and UG for making the championship possible. He said the challenges confronting the youth of yesterday are more than quadrupled, affecting their development today. He reiterated the development of critical thinkers, building of think tanks, and the deliberate creation of innovators and creators are the crucial steps towards a nation's building and development.
The current National Youth Policy (2022-2032), recently launched by His Excellency, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, identified critical thinking as a serious challenge confronting the Ghanaian youth and needs to be seriously addressed. Thus, the policy prescription is the creation of relevant platforms that will provide the youth with the enabling environment to build their formative thinking and thought processes, which will lead them to unearth the talents and potential required for self-development, community participation, and national and international leadership.
On behalf of the government, Hon. Ussif thanked the University Management and Community for giving the Ministry of Youth and Sports its facilities on the University Campus and land at Borteyman for the construction of sports infrastructure for the upcoming 13th African Games, dubbed Accra 2023.
Hon. Mustapha Ussif, Minister for Youth and Sports
This year's debate championship celebrates the return of debate to the premier university and the 75th Anniversary of UG. The debate rooms for the championship have been named after personalities who have contributed to the growth of UG and the development of debate as well.
Guests were treated to a cultural performance by the Ghana Dance Ensemble and a rendition of the championship theme song by Nat Brew Amanzeeba’s Wɔgbɛ jɛkɛ by some student debaters from UG and UHAS.
Present at the opening ceremony were Senior Management from UG and other sister universities, Professor Julius Najah Fobil, Provost for the College of Health Sciences; Professor Rosina Kyeremanteng, Dean of Student Affairs; Dr. Judith Anaman, Dean of Student Affairs, University of Health and Allied Sciences; Mr. Shaibu Tanko, Director of Sports, University for Development Studies; Dr. Ahmed Jinapor, Deputy Director, Ghana Tertiary Education Commission; members from GAUA, UG Chapter and students.
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