Members of the Association of African Universities (AAU), International Scientific Advisory

Board (ISAB), and Sectoral Advisory Board (SAB), have paid a courtesy call on Management of

the University of Cape Coast.

Introducing the delegation was the Director of the Centre for Coastal Management and Africa

Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (CCM-ACECOR), Prof. Dennis Aheto. He explained

that the delegation had come to participate in an official presentation and midterm review of the

Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECOR) project. He expressed that the

timeline of the project had created the opportunity to bring together all key stakeholders to

present the activities accomplished, and note areas of the project that need to be enhanced and

strengthened. “We thought that this was the right time to bring together these stakeholders to

have this midterm evaluation where we can have a formal presentation of the project. It is a one-

week long activity involving technical discussions and also interactions with students.” Prof.

Aheto indicated.

On his part, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong indicated that University

Management was very committed to making the ACECOR project successful. “As a University,

we are very interested in this program since it is the current World Bank project we have in

respect to the African Centres of Excellence and we want to ensure it becomes successful,” he

explained.

The Vice-Chancellor also noted that UCC was one of few universities situated near the coast,

which makes coastal matters of the country important to the institution. “This project will help us

solve the coastal problems we are facing in Ghana. Therefore, we want it to become one of the

fruitful projects in Africa,” he added.

Members of the delegation were Dr Sylvia Mkandawire, the Project Manager of the Africa

Centres of Excellence for Development Project of the Association of African Universities; the

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer for the Association of African Universities, Mrs

Adeline Addy; Director of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at the Institute for the Oceans

and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia and the Chair of the International Scientific

Advisory Board (ISAB), Prof. Rashid Sumaila; Chairman for the Sectoral Advisory Board

(SAB) for ACECOR, Mr Jacob Ainoo-Ansah; Prof. Francis Emile Asuquo from the University

of Calabar; Prof. Benjamin Betey Campion from KNUST; and Representatives from Civil

Society and Environmental Protection Agency.

The ACECOR programme embodies a partnership between the University of Cape Coast and the

World Bank under the Africa Centre of Excellence Impact Project to promote coastal resilience

within the West and Central Africa sub-regions. The objective of ACECOR is to support the

development of the technical and scientific capacity of young African professionals through

long-term professional and academic training programmes.

Present at the meeting was Prof. Dora Francisca Edu-Buandoh, Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Mr Jeff

Teye Onyame, Registrar; Prof. Isaac Galyoun, Provost of College of Distance Education; and the

Dean of the School of Biological Sciences, Prof. Justice Kwabena Sarfo.