The American Corner is an educational and cultural center that is open to the general public to serve as a place where they can acquire knowledge and also collaborate with like-minded individuals. The space was launched on 18th September, 2020 by the U.S Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie Sullivan. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Mobile Web Ghana, where the American Corner is housed. The event was well attended by some distinguished guests who came to witness the launch of the space and also take a tour of it.
The ceremony started with a speech from Florence Toffa, the Director of Mobile Web Ghana. Her speech centered on the vision of Mobile Web Ghana and how it ties into the vision of the U.S Embassy, Ghana for the American Corner. Florence stated the organization’s vision is to build the capacity of young people and create a space for them to learn and collaborate in using technology to solve local problems. This, the team at Mobile Web Ghana has been doing since the inception of the organization. Hence, the partnership with the U.S Embassy in the establishment of the American Corner, Florence added, was a great honor. She also mentioned a recent partnership between Mobile Web Ghana and the U.S Embassy on the Visuals for Gender project. We partnered with the embassy last year on an initiative called “Data for Gender-based Violence Advocacy”. The project team empowered and built the capacity of 300 Junior High School girls, 86 CSOs workers & Journalists and 36 teachers on gender based violence issues.
Ambassador Sullivan, who was the guest of honour, also delivered a splendid speech at the event. She stated that American spaces all over the world are hubs for innovation and collaboration. They are places where people meet to connect and share ideas. For this reason, the entire set up of the space caters for such activities. There are computers connected to high speed internet, books and other online resources all available to make it conducive for anybody who would like to acquire knowledge or even collaborate with others. The center has been established to foster networking, innovation and knowledge sharing. Users of the space can learn more about the United States, its policies and programs, higher education and culture. The Ambassador mentioned that the U.S Embassy is committed to promoting what she called “the 3 E’s”, which are education, employment and entrepreneurship. American Corner, Agbogba therefore is one major way that the embassy can promote the 3 E’s in Ghana as is being done all over the world.
The speeches were closely followed by the ribbon-cutting ceremony which marked the launch of American Corner, Agbogba. The Ambassador, guided by Florence Toffa, took a tour of the space. The invited guests also took turns to tour the space and familiarize themselves with all that it had to offer. We would like to invite the general public to come to make good use of the space for research, group work and collaboration with others. It is free to use the space and there are devices available to connect to the internet with.