School of Social Sciences Holds International Conference

Prof. Charity S. Akotia, Dean of the School of Social Sciences

The School of Social Sciences has held its 2016 International Conference on the theme “The Social Sciences, Good Governance, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” at the ISSER conference centre at the University of Ghana. 

The Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Prof. Charity S. Akotia in opening remarks stated that the theme for this year’s conference was selected for two reasons. First, in recognition that academics should be continuously engaged in the development agenda and that research should be addressing current needs of society. She added that the SDGs were selected to advance the successes of the MDGs and address any inherent challenges. She noted that understanding what challenges and opportunities are faced both locally and globally helps promote and sustain development.

According to Prof. Akotia, this year, the School received about 135 abstracts of which 114 were accepted for the conference. About 10% of the accepted abstracts were from colleagues in other universities in the country and 20% were from colleagues outside the country. She stated that the intention was to extend the reach beyond the shores of the country in order to foster international collaboration in research in furtherance of University of Ghana’s policy of internationalization.

Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah, Provost of the College of Humanities

 

The Provost of the College of Humanities, Prof. Samuel Agyei-Mensah, who chaired the opening ceremony stated that the SDGs in many ways are pushing the agenda set by the MDGs. He stated that 51% of Ghana’s population live in the cities while 49% are in rural areas. This he indicated should be a critical issue that the attainment of the SDGs will resolve. 

Dr. Christine Evans-Klock, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, delivering the keynote address

 

The keynote speaker for the event Dr. Christine Evans-Klock, United Nations Resident Coordinator and the United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative in Ghana, applauded the school for the inter-disciplinary approach and audience drawn from various disciplines across countries as well as the topics for panel discussion. She intimated that the School of Social Sciences’ interest in the SDGs is important and timely because of the inherently interdisciplinary nature of the Sustainable Development Agenda, lessons learnt from the MDGs and the critical role of governance in realizing the SDGs.

 

According to Dr. Christine Evans-Klock, Ghana has an opportunity to lead progress in the global development agenda and that this will require the efforts and energy of everyone in society. She thanked the School of Social Sciences for their interest in the SDGs and encouraged members to continue to find ways to engage in cutting-edge research that will help link research to good governance in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Agenda in Ghana.

Mr. Burkhardt Helemann, Country Representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

 

The country representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, one of the partners for this year’s conference, Mr. Burkhardt Helemann gave a short history of the Foundation and indicated that they were delighted to partner with the School of Social Sciences to organize the conference for the purpose of sharing knowledge and bringing solutions to the social issues.

Other sponsors were IFS Financial Services, the Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana.

In addition to oral presentations, this year’s conference also included poster presentations where about 14 posters were mounted. This created an opportunity for presenters to showcase their research and to interact with participants. 

Interactions at the poster presentations 

 

A panel discussion on Sustainable Development Goals and Good Governance took place on the second day of the conference. Topics discussed by the panelists included the monitoring and evaluation of the 169 indicators of the SDGs in Ghana, financing the SDGs when donor funds are receding due to Ghana’s middle income status, how to ensure that no individual is left behind in the quest to eradicate poverty and the role of good governance in achieving the SDGs.

 

Panelists at the panel discussion

     

Prof. Augustine Fosu – ISSER             Dr. Radhika Lal – UNDP        

 

Prof.  Joseph Atsu Ayee –         Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, Dean,             

   Independent Scholar         School of Information & Communications Studies,    

                                                  Moderator for the panel discussion             

 

One of the traditions of the School of Social Sciences conference is the presentation of awards to deserving faculty and staff in the academic year. For the 2014/2015 academic year, five awards were given.

The Best Researcher award was received by Dr. Kingsley Nyarko of the Department of Psychology, while the award for the Most Promising Young Scholar was given to Dr. Nkechi Srodah Owoo from the Department of Economics. The other awardees were Dr. Alfred Barima (Department of Economics), Best Lecturer, Ms. Georgina Awuku (Department of Psychology), Best Worker and Mrs. Afia Serwaa Attrams (Research Development Officer), Special Award for Meritorious Service.     

Prof. Charity S. Akotia, Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Conference Chair, Dr. Joseph Teye, in a group photograph with the 2014/2015 Awardees, (L-R) Dr. Nkechi Owoo, Ms. Georgina Awuku, Dr. Alfred Barimah, Prof. Charity Akotia, Dr. Kingsley Nyarko, Mrs. Afia Serwaa Attrams and Dr. Teye. 

 

A Group photograph of some participants at the end of the opening ceremony