The University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD), second HOPE Roadshow officially kick-started on Monday, 23rd January, 2023.
The week-long programme which was instituted last year has the general theme: Leading the UESD way: Raising an army of HOPE.
It was attended by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Eric Nyarko-Sampson, Management members, as well as staff and students.
The HOPE Roadshow is a project that is aimed to inculcate the culture of the core values (HOPE) of the University, in the staff and student body as a way of life. HOPE is an acronym that stands for Honest, Opportunity, Perseverance and Enterprising.
In an address, Prof. Nyarko-Sampson who is the architect of the core values explained that the Roadshow is to highlight the need for Ghana and Africa to raise a new generation of young individuals who are Honest, create and utilize Opportunities, Persevere even in times of adversity, and show signs of Enterprise in all their endeavours.
He indicated that society cannot keep with the ‘slippery’ path it treads where dishonest people are touted as smart as is depicted in folklores like “kwekuananse stories,” and said it was time for Ghana to act differently.
The Vice-Chancellor revealed that as the older generation works to change this undesirable narrative, the most significant change will be realised when the younger generation is targeted. He said, if soft skills of Honesty, Opportunity, Perseverance, and Enterprise, are incorporated into the teaching curricular the nation would consciously raise a strong and uniquely different army of young Ghanaians who are resolute in their beliefs and values and willing to propel Ghana and Africa into a new dimension.
Prof. Nyarko-Sampson said, it is with this vision, that UESD has set out to weave these values into the curricular of the programmes run at the university: HOPE for the present and the future, HOPE the UESD way and HOPE for Ghana and beyond, Prof. Nyarko-Sampson highlighted.
The Registrar, Mrs. Mary Abena Agyepong, who spoke on: “Hope – Our HOPE” reiterated that HOPE has been eloquently incorporated into the vision of the UESD. She said the core values form the mortar that binds the building blocks together and so anytime any of the values is sacrificed, the potency of the mortar to hold the entire structure together weakens.
Mrs. Agyepong said, the 21st-century workplace requires virtues of the UESD core values. She had some words of exhortation and food for thought for the University community: ‘Our HOPE is our virtue because it separates us from HOPE of others. We do the right thing at the right time when nobody is watching us.’ our HOPE journey for 2023 is to be deliberate about it. When we consistently live by HOPE, it will become our lifestyle – a lifestyle good for the progress and development of Ghana. We have to consciously live by the core values of the University, and dare to be different. This is because, our HOPE journey is an emotional one that requires a lot of commitment and Emotional Intelligence, saying, ‘it is imperative our virtues are well grounded Sine Qua Non.
The chairman for the opening was Prof. Anthony Amoah, who is also the Dean of the School of Sustainable Development, SSD. He expressed enthusiasm exhibited by the staff and students during the programme. He urged them to see HOPE as an essential ‘ingredient’ required for life.
There was a question-and-answer session during which both staff and students asked questions including: how to be honest in the midst of dishonesty, how to be Enterprising and fighting one’s fear and failure.