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NINETEEN MEMBER DELEGATION FROM THE REPUBLIC OF BENIN WEST AFRICA TO VISIT WITH NSU OFFICIALS Norfolk, Va. --- Dr. Marie V. McDemmond, president of Norfolk State University, and several of her administrators, faculty, and students will host a sizable delegation from the Republic of Benin, West Africa at an 8:30 a.m. breakfast meeting in the president's Scott-Dozier Dining Hall, on Monday, May 1, 2000. The meeting has been arranged for members of the delegation to hold preliminary discussions with NSU officials to further determine how best to establish a working partnership. One whereby the university can support some of the educational issues facing the Republic of Benin in the 21st Century. The parties have agreed to engage in dialogue pursuant to the possibilities of a relationship between Norfolk State University and the National University of Benin. It is expected that such concerns as the establishment of an exchange program between the two institutions, including the exchange of faculty and students, as well as long distance education using new technologies of communication, will be put on the table for serious dialogue and feedback. The focal point of which will be the opportunistic reform of the Benin educational system and the role that Norfolk State can play in that process. The Honorable Damien Zinsou Alahassa, minister of national education and scientific research, will lead the 19-member Benin delegation. He will be accompanied by several other members of the national education team including the general secretary, chief of staff, vice president of the national university and academic dean, and the president of the Council of the Protestant and Evangelical Churches of Benin. Also in the group to visit Norfolk State will be the ministers of transport and public works; housing, urbanism and environment; and trade and tourism. Seven other essential members of these ministries and four international media representatives will complete the African delegation. Representing NSU will be several top-level administrators, faculty members, and six students. Levi E. Willis, III, the president of the student government association, along with five of his international colleagues from South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Ethiopia will make up the student group. Benin is a French speaking nation located between Nigeria and Togo and was once the capitol of African slave trade and the cradle of voodoo. It sold many African American ancestors into slavery and participated in inhumane practices and treatment of its own people. The country's president, His Excellency Mathieu Kerekou, "has offered descendants of the sellers and buyers of slaves, as well as the victims of slavery, an opportunity to dialogue with one another in search of healing and wholeness," said Dr. Emeka J. Okoli, a professor of journalism at Norfolk State University. Okoli represented NSU as a member of the United States delegation to the International Conference on Slavery and Reconciliation held in the Republic of Benin in November 1999. He said, "Conference attendees from the Americas, Europe, and Africa explored ways to bring about healing from the wounds inflicted upon peoples of African descent by slavery." Kerekou's reputation is more indicative of him being a statesman than a politician. The people that tend to know him best have concluded that he is quite serious about educational, industrial, and economical development for his country. He realizes the necessity and importance of establishing a middle class in Benin as well as partnerships and networking with higher educational institutions in the United States. For more information about the Norfolk State University/Benin Delegation breakfast meeting, contact Gerald D. Tyler at (757) 823-8373. ###GDT### April 24, 2000 |
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