2022: Global Citizenship from the grassroots in Accra, Ghana
2022 was a transformational year for our Global Citizenship Hub in Accra, Ghana. With a plethora of new activities, and higher participation from community members than ever before, it is safe to say we’re building Global Citizenship muscle from the ground up in the region!
The Melton Foundation welcomed Ashesi University into its network of universities in 2014, opening the doors for the establishment of a Hub after vetting universities across the continent. Ashesi is recognized around the world for its impact and is considered a thought leader in educating ethical, entrepreneurial leaders in Africa. Over the years, Ashesi University through its local Melton Fellows has supported Global Citizenship Practice across the region, working with organizations and partners to build a Community of Practice.
The Melton Foundation’s decision to establish a Hub presence in Accra made it prudent to recruit a Global Citizenship Hub Coordinator dedicated to the mission and vision of the foundation, to represent the Melton Foundation locally, lead, plan, develop and execute strategic events such as the award-winning SDG Innovation Challenge which has become an integral offer of Global Citizenship and championship of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.
We have had the opportunity to organize two Global Citizenship Conventions with our partner Ashesi University. We also have organized Africa-wide innovation challenges. Each time we were pleasantly amazed by the intelligent, bright, and forward-thinking communities that partook in our activities in large numbers. It was a natural and organic decision to broaden our presence and create opportunities for budding Global Citizens in the region. On the one hand, these very talented people enrich our network, and on the other hand, we can contribute to local development by offering opportunities to develop global competencies in young people across the subcontinent.
“At Ashesi we strongly believe in global citizenship and developing the cross-cultural competencies of our students,” said Millicent Adjei, head of Diversity and International Programmes at Ashesi. “This partnership will provide unique opportunities for young Africans to work across diverse cultures in developing solutions to the pressing problems they face in their communities.”
With the appointment of our newest staff member, Eric Nii Anyetei Odonkor as Hub Coordinator for the Accra region, we have experienced a surge in Global Citizenship activities throughout the year in addition to welcoming 5 new fellows into the Global Citizenship Learning Program. Merging activities with our partner Ashesi University has boosted awareness exponentially on what the Melton Foundation stands for, ‘Global Citizenship Education’, and has cemented access, visibility, and reach among regional partners and the Ashesi University supported by the Campus Task Team.
Melton Fellows from Accra, Ghana with our Hub Co-ordinator Eric Nii Anyetei Odonkor
“The Melton Foundation’s presence in Africa provides a great opportunity to reinforce the notion of what Global Citizenship is currently and what it can grow to become in the future with the establishment of its Accra Hub. I am excited as well as honored to lead the effort locally, especially by demonstrating the Melton Foundation’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging work culture across hub events, interactions with stakeholders, and engagement of local and international partners. The year 2023 holds a lot of promise for the Melton Foundation with a Hub Coordinator dedicated to pushing forward the concept of Global Citizenship.”
A look back at 2022
Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF 2022)
The Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF 2022), was held in parallel with the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), in Kigali, Rwanda between 19-21 June 2022, under the theme of ‘Taking Charge of our Future’.
A delegation of Melton Fellows participated in activities that enriched their skill set presenting a unique opportunity for the Hub to initiate collaborations with organizations in the local and global region that share a commitment to global citizenship, sustainable development, and empowerment of young people.
SDG Innovation Challenge 2022
The 3rd Edition of the SDG Innovation Challenge was bigger and better than ever this year with close to 500 team registrations translating into 2500+ personal registrations. The profile of the event was elevated with recent award recognition at the Pioneers in SDGs Awards for Impact and Potential for Replication. The SDG Innovation Challenge 2022 was well attended in two phases from 28-30 November to 1-3 December 2022 resulting in 37 Innovation Teams completing the event in both phases. The top 3 winners will get the opportunity to showcase their innovations at the upcoming 5th African Youth SDGs Summit in Lusaka, Zambia next year.
“We live in an age where our world has moved from a global village to a “compound house” through the connecting power of technology. As a community of global citizens, we understand that humanity is interconnected and we share in the problems and collective innovative solutions breaking barriers at local and global levels to ensure sustainable development.“
WH Kobina Adomadzi Longdon | Chief Executive, TECH FARM Hub | National Youth President, United Nations Youth Association-Ghana
Legal Establishment
Coming back from the high of the Global Citizenship Convention in Jena, the Accra Hub concluded and satisfied all legal requirements to officially establish a legal representation of the Melton Foundation in Accra Hub under the name Melton Foundation Africa to promote and enable global citizenship through local programs, make global citizenship accessible to young change agents in Africa, working with the local campus, partners and organizations to develop effective and ethical leaders and focusing on intercultural collaboration to tackle problems of the modern world.
Impact Award at the Pioneers in SDG Awards, Ghana
The Hub received a strong boost in confidence and recognition when the SDG Innovation Challenge won the Impact Award for its Potential for Replication at the Pioneers in SDG Awards organized by the Journalist and Writers Association and the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Melton Fellows from Ashesi University, Ghana
The fellow-led campus meetings each month continued to inspire people in the Ashesi community and beyond to become global citizens, working closely with Hub Coordinator to develop a strong local presence on and off campus through Melton Foundation Information Sessions, social media drives, and most notably the recent Global Citizenship Convention. With another successful round of fellow recruitment and selection during the year, the 5 new fellows after undergoing 3 full months of engagement under the Global Citizenship Learning Program curriculum hosted a team building and welcome activity discussing the future of the hub, their fellowship journey so far and Global Citizenship in general.
“My intercultural competence and understanding of Global Citizenship has grown so much under the Global Citizenship Learning Program but if I may utter it in the wisdom of my culture I would say – ‘The world is a giant pot filled with the hopes of all its people as ingredients. Global citizenship is the fire that transforms all those ingredients into the meal called a sustainable future.’ ”
Innocent Chikwanda
“Global citizenship is about having an open mind to learn, grow and interact with people from different parts of the world. It is also about solving both local and global challenges to create a better world for the future generations.”
Faith Rovina
“Having the sense of global citizenship enables one to learn and respect universal values which contributes to building a sustainable global community.”
Linda Arthur
