From Derby To Dakar

1 April 2011

Community work in Derby carried out by the University is attracting international interest thanks to its ongoing success and innovation.

Peter Walker, Community Relations Officer at the University, recently swapped Derby for Dakar to talk about his work in the city at the African Regional Conference on University-Community Partnerships.

Since joining the University in 2008, Peter has developed numerous projects to help people in Derby, including an enterprise with the city's Congolese community.

"I've had the privilege of engaging with Derby's minority communities, including many forced migrants, many of whom have been from the Congo, Africa.

"At this global conference, I presented the programme of work developed with the Congolese community over the last two years to demonstrate our commitment to Community University engagement with one of the communities it serves".

The African Regional Conference on University-Community Partnership took place on 25-26 March in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. The conference was presided over by the Minister of Education for Sénégal, Amadou Tidiane Bâ and attended by representatives from universities from all over the world - USA, Canada, Holland, Switzerland, UK and Spain, as well as several African countries including Kenya, South Africa, Cameroon and Mozambique and - meaning that Peter's work is putting Derby firmly on the map.

From the conference endorsed the leadership to drive this work on across Africa, to share good community practice, and to build into the curriculum the opportunity for students to gain experiential learning, so essential in the global world in which we now operate. Strong support for this by key global stakeholders present led to the recommendation for an international 'Task Force'.

My View: In his own words, Peter Walker talks more about his experience:

Almost 80 delegates and students met at the African Regional Conference on University-Community Partnerships in Dakar, Senegal in Africa during 25-26 March 2011. They came from all around the world - from Europe: Holland, Geneva, UK; from USA, Canada and Brazil, and also from across Africa, including South Africa and Kenya. The purpose was to share practitioner expereinces, research findings and global approaches including initiatives to support young people better prepare for work.

Professor Aliou Guisse, conference organiser at UCAD, said about the work by University of Derby is important, illustrating their process of engaging with many communities. Peter showed evidence of a new and generous way of doing this, tackling the personal issues of people in fragile communities, giving them attention and allowing them to express their culture using music, food, clothes, and the unique ways that engage with others. His talk was greatly appreciated by the participants and created much discussion and debate in the auditorium'.

Professor Budd Hall, Global Alliance for Community Engaged Research, brought our thinking together by presenting a poem he had written, reminding Africa this is where language was born, and of its own rich academic heritage in community development, encouraging greater leadership by the African universities in partnership with international players.

For my part, beyond the conference, I shan't forget the brilliant dancing of the Senegal Ballet - nor attending the match at which Senegal beat Cameroon 1:0 in the last minute of extra time, when the whole city erupted with joy.

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From Derby To Dakar