Supporting student sport - Leeds Metropolitan University

Leeds meets
Africa
matters
africa 2006
In tune with Leeds Met’s commitment to being a world-class
regional university with worldwide horizons the launch of
Leeds Met Africa was welcomed with a buzz of anticipation
from within Leeds Met, and from partners both in the local
community and as far a field as South Africa.
The launch ran over two days, and was attended by
hundreds of guests, including Leeds Met staff and students
from many African countries, the Rt Hon Paul Boateng,
High Commissioner to South Africa, Professor Moto, the
Malawian High Commissioner, guests from Mangosuthu
Technikon in Durban and Chainama College in
Zambia; all of whom are united with Leeds
Met in their commitment to the
advancement of economic prosperity
and social development in Africa.
Supporting
student sport
The Sports Ball on Saturday 13
May 2006 is an opportunity for
the Athletics Union, the
Students' Union and the wider
university to reflect on an
extraordinary year. While the
next special edition of Leeds
Met Matters will celebrate the
team and individual award
winners for their performances,
this publication is a tribute to
those who have supported in so
many ways Leeds Met's
dramatic renaissance as a
sporting university in 2005/06.

Leading the way
Leeds Met Africa was launched at Headingley Carnegie
Stadium on Wednesday 10 May in the company of the Rt Hon
Paul Boateng, High Commissioner to South Africa. He said,
“Here in Leeds Met is a project which is completely in tune
with the needs of these times, and in tune with the
commission on Africa. You are playing a vital role in
developing skills and capacities in the African continent.
“Leeds Met can show the way in higher education, no
other higher education institution has such a varied
engagement with Africa as you have, whether it is in film,
information technology, health, sport or services, and you can
show the way to others, counting me and my friends in the
Foreign Office as your friends and supporters.”

United vision
Staff and students from across the university
were keen to take part in Leeds Met Africa, and
many joined in to ensure the success of the
launch. Both the bookshop and library featured
displays on African works, Horizons outlets
offered African food and Helpzones in
Headingley, the Civic Quarter and Harrogate
promoted the event.
Songs and sunshine herald in
African partnership
The Leeds Met Africa
launch celebrations
continued throughout the
university with a
performance from the
Leeds Seventh Day
Adventist Choir on the
steps of the James Graham
building at Leeds Met’s
Headingley Campus.
In blazing sunshine the
choir performed a set of
uplifting gospel music,
attracting the attention of
students studying,
exercising and relaxing on
The Acre and passing staff
and visitors.
Meanwhile Lamin
Jassey and his African
drumming group, Woolaba,
performed in the Lower
Concourse of the
Civic Quarter while
students and staff danced
along and soaked up the
spring day sunshine flowing
in through the open doors.

Viva Leeds Met Africa
A series of presentations began with a performance of African songs by
the Unlimited Praise Gospel Choir, while delegates sang and danced
along.
The Rt Hon Paul Boateng followed the choir with ‘Beyond Rhetoric:
Making the Millennium Development Goals a Reality, the Changing Social,
Political and Economic Landscape in Africa’. To conclude, Mr Boateng
praised Leeds Met’s work in Africa, and asked the audience to shout out
along with him ‘Viva Leeds Met’!
A presentation from Leeds Met and Chainama College, Zambia on
‘Public Health Education in Zambia’ followed. The programme then ended
with a preview screening of ‘AmaZulu: the Children of Heaven’, a moving
record of the hopes, aspirations and extraordinary achievements of the
pupils of Velabahleke High School in Durban. The film was produced by
Leeds Met’s Northern Film School Foundation in collaboration with the
Rainbow Collective, and will be premiered at the Durban International
Film Festival.
African night
The close of the Leeds Met Africa launch was
celebrated in style with a feast of African music,
food and entertainment. Headingley Metceno was
transformed under a swathe of African Batik,
artwork and flowers, and more than a hundred
guests danced the night away with entertainment
from Nigerian-born artist, Oluseyi Ogunjobi and his
band.
Extending boundaries
to the community
Headingley Campus events were complemented with
a strong cultural programme, which included
a display of African artwork by year one and two
pupils from Rawdon Littlemoor Primary School. The
children completed a project on Kenya as
part of their curriculum and were delighted to display
their work as part of the Leeds Met Africa initiative.

What is Leeds Met Africa?
Leeds Met Africa celebrates the success of
a network of partnerships established with
communities, governments and
institutions in Africa over the last two
decades and provides a framework for
furthering the advancement of economic
prosperity and social development in
Africa in future years.
Representatives from schools and
faculties have taken part in developing a
wide range of collaborative initiatives in
Africa, and the university represents more
than 200 students from 28 African
countries with many staff having an
African or African-Caribbean heritage.
Haile Gebrselassie, one of the greatest
distance runners of all time, will receive
an honorary doctorate at Leeds Met’s first
graduation ceremony in Africa. He says:
“Leeds Met Africa is a wonderful project
which I am very happy to support.”
The primary aim of Leeds Met Africa is
to provide a vehicle for the university’s
continued commitment to seeking
Leeds Met Africa Seminar
Programme 2006
26 June Mikaela Gavas, EU Policy Officer, BOND (British Overseas NGOs for
Development), presents ‘EU-Africa Strategy: Opportunities for
Engagement with African Institutions’, Headingley Campus
4 October Charles Abugre, Head of Global Advocacy & Policy, Christian Aid,
presents ‘Aid, Trade and Economic Development in Africa’
21 November Dapo Oyewole, Executive Director, Centre for African Policy & Peace
Strategy (CAPPS), presents ‘Governance and Development in Africa’
Further news on Leeds Met Africa and details of forthcoming events can be found on
the Leeds Met Africa webpage www.leedsmet.ac.uk/internat/leedsmetafrica. If you
would like to attend a seminar or have your name added to our mailing list, please
register on our webpage or email c.mulholland@leedsmet.ac.uk.
Leeds Met Matters is produced by the team in Communications, tel 0113 283 5935.
sustainable and effective responses to
African development priorities.
Opportunities will continue to be provided
for staff and students to make a difference
through engagement in capacity building,
knowledge exchange projects and
volunteering, and research and exchange
programmes. In turn, these projects and
experiences will enrich the intellectual
and international dimensions in the UK
and enhance the global perspectives of
staff and students.

Gabon - The Tourism, Hospitality &
Events School has provided training
to update the capacity of personnel
involved in ecotourism and tourism
in protected areas.
Malawi - Leeds Met is working with the
Polytechnic of Malawi to design and
implement a new engineering curriculum,
and has seconded a member of staff for a
year to help deliver this. Work with
ministries and donor agencies across
Malawi will seek funding for the
implementation of a national
qualifications framework.
South Africa - The Northern Film
School Foundation has produced the
film ‘Amazulu: The Children of
Heaven’, filmed on location in
Durban, and premiering at the
Durban International Film Festival.
Other partnerships include those
with Mangosuthu Technikon and the
University of the Western Cape.
Leeds Met in Africa
The School of Languages is the lead partner in a consortium
delivering communications courses for African leaders in 19
sub-Saharan African countries.
Leeds Met and the Association of Business Executives (ABE)
in Africa are working together to develop affordable
progression routes into UK higher education programmes.
Uganda - The School of Education
& Professional Training has
worked with Kyambogo University
in curriculum and institutional
development.
Ethiopia - The English
Language Improvement project
has enabled many teachers in
schools to improve their
English.
Kenya - The School of the
Built Environment is
exploring the possibility of
offering learning
programmes in Kenya
through distance learning.
Tanzania - The first African
nation to welcome Leeds Met
20 years ago in developing the
transport infrastructure.
Support since then includes the
development of the Tanzanian
National Qualifications
Framework in College and
Technical Education, and
developing links with ministries
and institutions.
Zambia - The MSc in Public Health,
funded by the Commonwealth
Scholarships Commission, has been
delivered at Chainama College near
Lusaka for several years.