ESU in Ghana

This article was published on Monday 7 March 2011

Our international delegation to Ghana has returned from a packed week of teaching and training. ESU Speech & Debate mentor, Clive Eley, shares his experience of the trip:

Arriving in hot and sunny Ghana from the cold of England in February was an exhilarating experience. The bustling city of Accra welcomed us with its colourful roadside stalls and manic traffic, woven into a backdrop of lush equatorial greenery.

Our training sessions, conducted at the British Council buildings in Accra and Kumasi, reflected the welcoming weather of Ghana. The students were eager to acquire new skills and hence, the training sessions were productive and lively. Having taught speech and debate in various parts of Southern Africa and in England, I was thoroughly impressed by the abilities of the Ghanaian students. Particularly striking was their socio-political knowledge, allowing for in-depth debates about a range of topics including the economy of Ghana and the notion of Church taxation.

Along with the training of students who will participate in the feeder competition to the ESU's IPSC called the ‘Young Debaters', we were also tasked with providing support and training to adults who will act as trainers and judges for the competition. Through an interactive workshop process we were able to pass on skills and knowledge that will help establish the sustainability of speech and debate in Ghana.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip, however, was being broadcast live on the Ghanaian radio stations, Joy FM and Love FM, to promote the ‘Young Debaters' competition. We were given a chance to explain the merits of speech and debate in young people's lives as well as advertise the training sessions and the competition. Evidently, people still do listen to the radio and a number of the schools that signed up for training in Kumasi had done so after hearing our stint on the radio!

Overall, the Ghana tour was wonderful teaching exposure peppered with interesting and unique cultural experiences. Second only to the wonderful Ghanaian hospitality we were shown by our hosts from the Steering Committee of ESU Ghana, was the variety of interesting foods on offer; from deep fried plantains and coconuts to spicy fish soups and fufu. When you next travel to Ghana, I suggest you arrive hungry!

You can read a full report in the June edition of dialogue.