A fifteen-member delegation from Sekondi-Takoradi has ended a 10-day transnational study visit to Palermo in Italy as part of the implementation of the Twin-Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project (TCSPP) in the two cities. The delegation, which was led by the Mayor of Sekondi-Takoradi, Hon. Abdul-Mumin Issah had representatives of the project partners, beneficiary institutions and the implementation team. Notable among the delegation were Mr. Isaac Aidoo, Project Coordinator; Mr. Vincent Annan, Chief Executive Officer of Sekondi-Takoradi Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Dr. Owusu-Ansah Ankrah, lecturer at Takoradi Technical University; Mr Ebenezer Ackom, Sekondi-Takoradi Metro Director of Culture; Dr. Agyei John, lecturer at Kumasi Technical University and Hon. John Buckman, Presiding Member of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly.
The exchange visit was planned within the framework of the project “Co-creation of an integrated urban governance for green, sustainable and Inclusive Development of Sekondi-Takoradi -Ghana”. This forms part of the capacity building program of the project aimed to foster exchange of good practices in sustainable and inclusive urban governance. The Ghanaian delegation had meetings with different departments of Palermo Municipal Administration, visited cultural heritage sites and engaged some members of the African community contributing to the socio-cultural development of Palermo City.
The delegation among others held meetings with the Mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla and some of his council members, the director of Fine Art Institute, Palermo University-Department of Architecture, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Palermo, Port of Palermo Authorities and Entrepreneurs of the Business Community in Palermo-Mediterranea. The team also visited some UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites including the Cathedral, the Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel, Massimo Theatre, the School of Cinema, Morettino Caffe museum, Sicilian ethnographic museum (Giuseppe Pitrè), the Sanctuary Saint Rosalia and city view
The delegation is expected back home on Thursday, March23, 2023. The study visit was carried out with the institutional support of the Honorary Consulate of Ghana in Sicily and Calabria and with the technical and logistical support offered by the NGO CISS and the Ghana Sicily Business Forum (GSBF). Similar study visit was organized for eight-member delegation from Palermo to Sekondi-Takoradi in December last year as part of the project. The Twin-Cities in Sustainable Development is a 3-year (2022–2024) project funded by the European Union (EU). Partners of the project are the Municipality of Palermo, Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud (CISS), Ghana Sicily Business Forum and Kumasi Technical University. The Project is geared towards addressing the challenges of rapid urbanization, climate change, exclusion, unemployment, irregular migration and preparedness to battle infectious disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.