Northeastern University holds 5th Global Leadership Summit in Accra

THE Northeastern University, a research institution with its main campus in Boston, United States of America (USA) has held its fifth Global Leadership Summit in Accra.

Previous Global Leadership Summits took place in Paris, London, Shanghai and Mumbai.

The Accra event was attended by about 300 people, including top civic and business leaders from within and outside the country.

The inter-generational audience included alumni, students, parents, faculty and friends from around the world.

Alumni who belong to the Young Global Leaders, worldwide ambassadors of the university, flew to Accra from London, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and the U.S. to share their own experiences as thriving, successful and accomplished beneficiaries of experiential education.

The topics treated ranged from business, sustainability, culture and entrepreneurship.

They included education in Ghana and the U.S., finance, entrepreneurship, leadership, civic engagement, the fourth industrial revolution in Africa and creativity, art, music and culture in the era of artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies. 

Speakers

Speakers at the summit included the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia E. Palmer; Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Elsie Addo Awadzi; South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Grace Jeanet Mason, and leading members from government, the banking sector, private sector, Mastercard Foundation and a social enterprise, Semicolon Africa.

The Northeastern University President, Joseph E. Aoun, told the audience that the goal of the summit was to engage in dialogue about opportunities and innovation in the country and across the continent of Africa.

He told the audience, especially young people interested in the Northeastern University that “Our university is not defined by a single campus, it is defined by its network”.

A member of the alumni group of the Northeastern University known as Binja Basimike, said the event was “genuinely a dream come true for me”.

“I believe that the talent that is here just needs a chance and Northeastern is giving us the opportunity,” she added.

Democracy

Ms Palmer, in her address, highlighted the role Ghana had played in engaging the African diaspora, its commitment to democracy and contributions to regional security.

“The United States sees Ghana to be a key player in fuelling global impact,” she said.

Gatherings such as the Northeastern Global Leadership Summit and educational exchanges, Palmer said, reinforced the dedication of the United States and President Joe Biden to strengthen partnerships with African countries.

“I’m so pleased that there are so many Ghanaian alumni and parents and students that are here,” Ms Palmer said.

Ghana, she said, boasted of the second highest number of college students from Sub-Saharan Africa studying in the U.S and that currently, 135 students from the country attended Northeastern University.

For her part, Ms Awadzi shared with the audience, her professional journey and multiple career pivots and advised young people on how to persevere through challenges and push through doubt.
“Be confident in starting small,” she said.

Ms Mason spoke about the positive changes that had taken place in Ghana including the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in 2007 and the successful tourism campaign the “Year of Return” that brought members of the diaspora into the country.

She also talked about the attractiveness of Ghana to foreign businesses and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that was established in 2018.

“Africa has not been lacking creative ideas,” Ms Mason added. 

Succession

A parent of a Northeastern University, Chris Chinebuah, who is also the Executive Chairman of Fueltrade Limited, gave the audience advice on succession planning, especially in family businesses.

“If you have a business that outlives you then you have a business,” he said to aspiring entrepreneurs.

The Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, Sipho Dlamini, spoke about African genres of music becoming popular across the world, the role of gospel music in his life, leadership, the role of music in social movements and future technology in the music industry.

During the summit, the Executive Chairman of Chanrai Summit Group, Northeastern Trustee and father of two Northeastern graduates, Subodh Chanrai, announced that the Chanrai family had chosen to sponsor a Ghanaian individual to attend the university. 

Aside events

The summit included a cultural exploration of Ghana.

Attendees who visited the National Museum of Ghana were treated to performances by Ghanaian musicians M.anifest and Kofi Kinaata; danced during a festival at the Nubuke Foundation that showcased Ghana’s traditional food, music, dance, and artworks by modern Ghanaian artists along Northeastern’s faculty and student innovative projects and visited the castles of Cape Coast and Elmina — key locations in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

A Young Global Leader, who graduated from Northeastern in 2015, Jude Albukhari, said the event exceeded his expectations.