“OGYA CANADA” Can’t Wait…….

It is 4:30 am, Ghana time and it is yet another working day after an unusually long Christmas holidays. I am already awake and wondering as usual when 6th January 2012 (If Flo doesn’t change the flight schedule……hahahaha) will arrive so I could fly out of this country to the land of the “white man”-Canada. I’m checking my e-mail every 2-3 hours, making sure I’m up to speed with every bit of information Flo or Silvia or Dan or Kate or Binnu or any EWBer would be sending down my inbox.

Days when I would wake up at dawn praying that the non-immigration officer at the Canadian embassy at Sankara Avenue here in Accra will be less critical and grant me visa are over. One phenomenon that has become synonymous with sly (the AKA of my name….. and not that I am really sly) is waking early at dawn, a time I can get access to uninterrupted internet service, (something that is regular with internet service providers in Ghana) so I could view the sights and sounds of Ottawa and Toronto, know what the weather is going to be like, what I may be wearing, the chilling places in town and what to expect. When I read about the conference and the issues that would be discussed I feel excited and wish the days left would just move faster. For a whole totally new experience awaits me!!!!!
I occasionally imagine what my family in Canada would be like: a lovely, available family that would give me the Canada experience, to learn about Canadian culture, ethics, family values and traditions, food, inspiration and fun family activities. I look forward to a family experience that would leave lasting memories on my mind. A family that I can be part of even when I am long gone. A family that is interested in Africa, whose kids will be ready to learn the AZONTO DANCE……..

I look forward to a working experience of a life time with an institution that is grounded in service delivery for the general improvement of the human race. An institution that would help me improve my working ethics, efficiency and excellence. I look forward to a practical field experience, and an opportunity to work in all departments of the institution. I can’t wait to wake up every morning and “go to work in Canada” drinking cappuccino and interacting with co-workers. More importantly I can’t wait to build a lasting network of friends who are interested in my career and are interested in building long term partnership with my institution. Through this, both institutions could share experiences and help improve the capacities of their staff. I’m looking forward to learning best practices and adapting it when I’m back to Ghana.

To my fellow EWBers, I can’t wait to be part of the BIG FAMILY; I can’t wait to meet you all. I am looking forward to an interactive time and discussions sessions that stimulates the mind, inspires change and motivates the soul. I wonder every day what the EWB motivation is, what inspires EWBers to leave the luxury of their homes and visit Africa’s remotest of places to spend their lives; but Canada I know, would give me the answer!!!!!!!!!!

I will miss Ghana though while am away, the food, the people and the radio stations. But one thing I wouldn’t miss at all is the traffic in the city of Accra.
My expectations are really high; I am aiming for space and using the skies as the stepping stone. I am anxious to make a change in Africa, and Ghana in particular, to take development to the next level and to create a new development paradigm through SYSTEMATIC INNOVATION.

Can’t wait for the GALA night, to the skating trip and to having FUN, FUN, and FUN!!!!

Indeed I can’t wait to chill till I’m frozen!!!!!!!!!!!

Leadership Retreat in Burkina Faso

Photos courtesy of Florian Villaumé, EWB

The Leadership Retreat in Burkina Faso took place on December 17 – 18, 2011. Leaders of various ages worked together to find systemic innovations to address the challenges their countries experience.

Goals

The goals of the retreat included building trust and connections among the participants, as well as evaluating and developing each participant’s unique leadership style. Another goal was for the participants to learn about the different tools they can use to create systemic change. Some of the leadership techniques explored in the retreat were creative problem solving, human centered design, and other collaborative processes that can create solutions.

Activities and Outcomes

The 2-day leadership retreat featured various sessions, including “360 degree feedback,” a leadership survey. It was used to highlight the skills and attitudes that are necessary for leaders to possess. Participants came up with their own ideas of the skills and attitudes that are important, which was shared in a larger group.

One of the outcomes of the activity was that it helped the leaders to understand their own strengths and opportunities for personal development.

The participants also took part in constructive brainstorming to expand the range of possibilities. They were encouraged to think creatively to craft desirable, feasible and viable solutions. At the retreat, leadership was presented as one’s personal approach to interactions with others, not a specific role or position. Therefore, the participants tried to dissociate from their roles and the organizations they work for, and to represent only themselves that weekend.

Peer Facilitation

Several of the participants who were delegates at the 2011 African Leadership Program presented a session on community development. They summarized for others what they had learned at the Coady InternationalInstitute when taking part in the training sessions there the previous year.

The delegates are currently applying these community development techniques to their farming-based organizations, as well as participating in local debates and discussing how to diffuse these techniques at the national level.

Other activities were aimed at inspiring the participants to take their leadership skills to the next level, and in turn to be able to help facilitate the professional development of their peers.

To conclude the weekend, the group took part in a 3-hour design session on how to create systemic innovation. The topic they focused on emerged from the conversation the previous night and centered on how leaders can increase the analytical skills of university students.

African Leadership Program 2012 – Overview

Carefully selected for their outstanding contribution to systematic change in their home countries, several African Delegates from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Zambia, and Malawi will be invited to a 4 week leadership experience in Canada. The African leaders will have a chance to: 

1. Attend Systemic Innovations, an international development conference taking place in Ottawa from January 11 – 14, 2012. It will host over 800 delegates from Canada, as well as the African leaders and guest speakers, and explore system-changing innovations and the conditions that will catalyze their development and spread in Africa.
2. Take part in a specifically designed, week-long training seminar on Leadership and other topics of their choice.
3. Create links and build relationships between organizations, individuals, the different levels of Canadian government and governments in other countries. In previous years a government to government partnership was formed between Loyalist Township, in Ontario, and Kassena-Nankana, in Ghana.
4. Participate in work placements with a Canadian company or organization that is relevant to the work of the African leaders. The placement sectors include everything from policy, environmental consulting, not-for-profit organizations, water and sanitation, agriculture and agribusiness and municipal governance and infrastructure.
5. Meet with members of the EWB student and professional chapters across Canada, network and attend social gatherings. 
6. Participate in home stays with hosting Canadian families. 

For more information about the African Leadership Program and Systemic Innovations, visit

http://alp.ewb.ca