WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg and the University for Development Studies (UDS) are taking the next step towards deepening their partnership under a comprehensive MOU that they signed this past February in Ghana. A delegation fromGhana (UDS) has arrived in Winnipeg this week to sign a second agreement that will create a Joint Institute for Indigenous and Traditional Peoples’ Development between the two Universities.
The Institute will focus on development issues related to poverty, climate change, traditional knowledge and other areas of key interest to the two Universities. When fully operational the Institute will enable the Universities to integrate theory and practice through on-the-ground development projects. The Institute will also help to facilitate field placements for students in UWinnipeg’s Masters in Development Practice (MDP) Program.
Among the global network of 23 universities that offerthe MDP program, UWinnipeg uniquely focuses on Indigenous and Traditional Peoples’ Development. The MDP program requires all students to undertake field placements in Indigenous communities in Canada and around the world. One of the first priorities for the Institute will be to identify field placement opportunities in Northern Ghana and in the devastated region of the Sahel.
The countries of the Sahel (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia) are facing an immediate crisis in food security of historic proportions and an ongoing challenge to establish the foundations for sustainable development in the region. Northern Ghana, with its proximity to the Sahel, faces similar tests.
“The complex and chronic problems that have afflicted the Sahel require new perspectives and new approaches. It is precisely because of challenges like the Sahel that the International Commission on Development Education recommended the creation of the MDP Program,” noted UWinnipeg President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Lloyd Axworthy. “The partnership between UWinnipeg and UDS in creating the joint Institute for Indigenous and Traditional Peoples’ Development is to enable the two Universities to collaborate in addressing these situations” Dr. Axworthy added.
During their mission to Winnipeg, the delegation from UDS will be working with the MDP program to begin developing field placement opportunities. Both UDS and UWinnipeg are interested in expanding their partnership on field placements to include a special relationship with Ibadan University in Nigeria, another university that offers the Masters in Development Practice program. Professor Haruna Yakubu, the Vice Chancellor of UDS, noted that Ibadan University, a highly regarded institution in Nigeria, has signed an MOU with UDS to implement their own field placements.
“The Sahel is a rich environment for helping future development practitioners to expand their knowledge and hone their skills. Bringing students together from several MDP universities, in a field program looking at the development of the Sahel, will enhance the learning experience for the participants’ and increase the benefits that may arise from their engagement, said Professor Yakubu.”
Yakubu described northern Ghana as a trading hub with Sahel countries. “Our geography, history, focus on development, and economic and cultural links with Nigeria and other countries of the Sahel well positions UDS to be an effective partner in achieving the objectives of the new Joint Institute for Indigenous and Traditional Peoples’ Development.”
