The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) – Beijing Chapter launched the maiden edition of its monthly leadership development series dubbed “Power Series” over the weekend. The series which aims at equipping members with leadership skills for today’s highly competitive world had Ghana’s Ambassador to Ghana; Ambassador Edward Boateng as the maiden speaker. He spoke on the theme “Living and taking advantage of the moment- Lessons from the Life of an Achiever”, and shared his personal experiences in being an executive of Coca Cola in the United States, leading CNN’s business drive in Africa and setting up his business in Ghana and Africa to change the negative narrative of Africa that was predominant in the 80’s and 90’s but still present today. Commenting on failure, he said “failure is part of the success equation but depends on how you treat it. The most important thing is to keep moving when you fail and share your fears with trusted friends because you may not know who has the answer to your problems”.
The session provided participants the opportunity to ask pertinent questions in business and life in general for practical advice from the dignitaries that attended the event. The maiden edition was held as part of the union’s first General Assembly (GA) meeting for the 2019/2020 academic year and therefore had officials of the Embassy present.
On his part, the Deputy Ambassador; Dr. Charles Dwamena advised participants to direct their research and experiences in China to build sustainable solutions for Ghana. He also stressed on the importance of networking and the need to develop quality and meaningful friendships in the course of their studies. He indicated that Ghana’s One District-One Factory (1D1F) policy had opportunities for Ghanaians especially the youth to create businesses and contribute to the development of the nation and therefore strategic that participants identify investors that can collaborate and create sustainable businesses in Ghana.
As an orientation and onboarding experience for new students and as a reminder to old students, Mr. Sylvester Acherekoh, the Head of the Consular Section of Ghana’s Embassy in China advised students on the acceptable and non-acceptable conducts and behaviors in China. He stressed on the need to be good ambassadors for Ghana and not contrary. He also informed participants of the embassy’s support services for all Ghanaians who visit or live in China. He ended by advising participants to take a keen interest in learning the Chinese language before leaving China since it will differentiate them and open doors in their life in China or upon return to Ghana.
In an interview with the media, Mr. Mwin-Nia Saan-ye Zumakpeh; a Ghanaian MSc student in Actuarial Science and Risk Management at he University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and Vice President of the union expressed his gratitude for the massive turnout and support from the Ambassador and his team at Ghana’s Embassy in China. He stressed the need for participants to implement the learnings so that it doesn’t end up being the usual “talk-with no action” associated with many of such great concepts. He confirmed the commitment of the leadership of NUGS-Beijing in sustaining this series and said that due to technology, subsequent editions can be held on China’s popular WeChat platform for convenience rather than converging at a physical location. He said “This is a great initiative that will be sustained either by holding subsequent sessions at a physical location or holding a live online chat on WeChat with an accomplished personality. Building on the Global Development Leadership Forum started by the former administration, we believe that we deserve more of such events to sharpen our skills and abilities”.
Other leaders present were; Mr. Alfred Nii Hammond; an Assistant to the Head of Consular Affairs and Timothy Kwakye Karikari; President of the Beijing Chapter of the National Union of Ghana Students – China. The event was moderated by Samuel Donyinah; a PhD candidate at Beijing Normal University.
Source: NUGS Beijing Media Team
