The Beijing branch of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has launched the maiden edition of its monthly leadership development series dubbed ‘Power Series’.

It is aimed at equipping members with leadership skills for the modern highly-competitive global market. It was launched in Beijing, China.

Ghana's Ambassador to China, Edward Boateng, who was the main speaker at the event, shared his personal experience of being an executive of The Coca-Cola group in the United States, leading CNN’s business drive in Africa and setting up his business in Ghana and Africa to change the negative narrative of Africa that was predominant in the 80’s and 90’s but still present today.  

Speaking on the theme: ‘Living and Taking Advantage of the Moment – Lessons from the Life of an Achiever’, he said: “Failure is part of the success equation but depends on how you treat it. The most important thing is to keep moving when you fail and share your fears with trusted friends because you may not know who has the answer to your problems”.

The maiden edition was held as part of the union’s first General Assembly (GA) meeting for the 2019/2020 academic year.

For his part, Ghana’s Deputy Ambassador to China, Dr Charles Dwamena advised the participants to use their research and experiences in China to build sustainable solutions for Ghana. 

He also stressed the importance of networking and the need to develop quality and meaningful friendships in the course of their studies. He indicated that Ghana’s One District-One Factory (1D1F) policy had opportunities for Ghanaians, especially the youth, to create businesses and contribute to the development of the nation and, therefore, it was strategic that the participants identify investors that can collaborate and create businesses in Ghana.

As an orientation and onboarding experience for new students and as a reminder to old students, Mr Sylvester Acherekoh, the Head of the Consular Section of Ghana’s Embassy in China, advised the students about acceptable and non-acceptable conduct and behaviour in China. 

He assured the participants of the embassy’s support for all Ghanaians who visit or live in China. He advised the participants to take a keen interest in learning the Chinese language before leaving China since it will differentiate them and open doors for them either in China or Ghana.

In an interview with the media, NUGS Vice-President, Mwin-Nia Saan-ye Zumakpeh, expressed his gratitude to the participants for the turnout as well as support from the ambassador and his team at Ghana’s Embassy in China. 

He confirmed the commitment of the leadership of NUGS-Beijing in sustaining the series and said that due to technology, subsequent editions could be held on China’s popular WeChat platform for convenience rather than converging on a physical location.