Leeds lecturers and climate activists deepen partnership with Ghana

On 29th January, Climate Action Leeds and the School of Geography at the University of Leeds hosted a solidarity delegation from Ghana. The visit was part of both organisation’s commitments to decolonisation and Pan-Afrikan solidarity, especially at a time of climate breakdown in parts of the majority world like Ghana. The delegation was led by Kofi Mawuli Klu, a Ghanaian Scholar-Activist Jurisconsult specialising in the Pan-Afrikan Internationalist Praxis of Global Justice Law-Related Education for Planet Repairs, and Akofa Comfort, head of Global Citizenship Education for Planet Repairs Action (GCEPRA) and leading the UNESCO Glocal Green Eco-Clubs in Accra.

L - R: Stuart Hodkinson, Akofa Comfort, Kofi Mawuli Klu, Lucy Meredith, Paul Chatterton

During the day they met the Youth and Education transition partners from Climate Action Leeds, where they discussed how the Leeds Climate Curriculum developed in Leeds schools could be used in Ghana, and how an online exchange between students could be created.

Kofi and Akofa also held a lunchtime public lecture on the topic of ‘Creating an alternative decolonial future for Ghana’. In this talk, they outlined their innovative Community-based Action Research work and set out a vision of what a decolonial future for Ghana would look like, focusing on the role of Spatial Reparations.

In the afternoon, the delegation attended the launch of Leeds Community Energy and discussed the need for energy justice, public control of energy to support decolonisation, and solidarity links between community energy practitioners in the UK and Ghana.

This is just the beginning of a formal twinning partnership between Ghanaian colleagues, Climate Action Leeds, and the School of Geography. Kofi and Akofa set out practical resource needs for this eco-club initiative and how activists and universities in the global north can support this as part of their own decolonisation. In particular, we are looking at a formal education exchange and technology transfer to support schools in Ghana.

For more information about this partnership, contact:

Stuart Hodkinson S.N.Hodkinson@leeds.ac.uk

Paul Chatterton P.Chatterton@leeds.ac.uk

For more information about Leeds Community Energy, contact: Lucy Meredith lucy@platformlondon.org