Former President John Agyekum Kufour has been awarded with an honorary doctorate from Delaware State University (DSU) in the US.
Kufuor served two terms as president of the Republic of Ghana, from 2001 to 2009.
John Kufuor delivers the commencement address at Delaware State University’s graduation. “Mankind has at last come to realize the vision of a global village,” he told the graduates. (Photo: DOUG CURRAN/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS JOURNAL)
His inauguration was the first time Ghana had peacefully transferred power between democratically elected governments since the country won its independence in 1957.
Since leaving office, Kufuor has served with the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union, and he was a special United Nations Envoy on Climate Change.
Today he is a leader in a long list of international organizations
The former President who is now a Global Ambassador against Hunger for the UN was also the main speaker at the graduation ceremony of the university on Sunday.
Addressing some 500 graduating students, former President Kufour encouraged them to join the global fight for good.
“The world you are about to enter is vastly different than the world your parents entered into when they came into adulthood,” Kufuor said. “Mankind has at last come to realize the vision of a global village,” he said.
His visit to DSU marked the first time a former head of state had addressed the university, officials there said. In addition to giving the commencement address, he also received an honorary doctorate from DSU, and he hosted a town hall session later that evening.
Kufuor told the DSU students that they need to think of themselves as the leaders who will pick up the immense challenges his generation has been fighting all over the world.
Mankind has made giant strides, he said, connecting communities all over the world, making peace in many places and developing powerful new technologies in agriculture and medicine.
But too many people, he said, are struggling with poverty and hunger, diseases like AIDS and Ebola still cause widespread suffering and global warming threatens to make devastating natural disasters more common.
“The responsibility falls on the youth of today to continue the fight, to pick up the mantle of global leadership,” he said.
Kufuor’s speech drew a loud applause from the crowd of students and family members.
Source: Delawareonline