Ghana

The Aim of the International Fellowship Program Alumni Association of Ghana (IFPAAG) is to seek the academic, professional, social and general welfare of all members, and support the people of Ghana and other West African countries where IFP operates.
 

The objectives of IFPAAG are as follows:
 

• To create an effective support network for IFP Alumni in Ghana and West Africa
• To build the capacity of IFP Alumni in Ghana and sustain their passion for Social Justice
• To support initiatives that promote Social Justice in communities across Ghana and West Africa
• To shape policy by raising awareness about important Social Justice Issues and support research and scholarship in the relevant fields.

The Alumni was registered with the Registrar General, Ghana in September of 2008 as a company limited by guarantee under the companies code, 1963 (Act 179).

Activities
Alumni since January 2007 have launched a number of activities including the following:
 

1. Capacity Building Project- The Alumni visited two junior high and two senior high schools in the Greater Accra Region to deliver a talk on leadership skills, Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS.
2. Alumni assisted in Needs Assessment, Cohort Building and Pre-Departure programs for Ford Fellows.
3. The Association meets biannually to welcome new members, discuss Alumni proposals, on-going projects and the way forward.

Achievements
 

• The Alumni opened a Bank Account, designed a logo and has an email address (ifpaag@gmail.com) where correspondence is ongoing. The Bank account is for the Alumni to contribute a token to help in the smooth running of the organization.
• The Association has a constitution and has been registered under the Registrar Generals Department of Ghana. This is to authenticate the Association and also to help solicit funds to support the call for social justice in the country by undertaking developmental projects, improving capacity building needs of Alumni in specialized fields to be more competitive in the labor market, and also to improve communication, networking and visibility of IFP Ghana Alumni Association.
• The Association of African Universities has given the Alumni the authority to use their address for correspondence. The Alumni however has its own logo and a letter head for the Association.

Membership
In 2001, the first cohort of seven Ghanaians were selected and sponsored by Ford Foundation International Fellowship Programme to pursue further postgraduate training in varied disciplines. They were individuals of high promise by virtue of their high academic achievements from deprived backgrounds and their commitment to community service. They were expected to return to their communities after further training and act as leaders, social change agents and catalysts to the socioeconomic upliftment of their communities with a strong passion for the advancement of social justice agenda.
In subsequent years many more have received sponsorship from the IFP totaling 59 in 2008. So far a number of these cadres have returned home and are working in senior positions in a number of different sectors of the economy of this country. They have formed an Alumni Association, which is poised to promote the leadership for social justice agenda of IFP in their country.
The Ghana chapter of the Alumni currently has a membership of 52.
 

The first Alumni meeting for the year 2009 held on May 2nd at the AAU conference hall, Accra.