NUGS-Germany, UK, and China to Host First Joint Ghana Diaspora Students Forum
The National Union of Ghana Students – Germany Chapter (NUGS-Germany), in collaboration with NUGS-UK and NUGS-China, will host the Ghana Diaspora Students Forum (GDSF) on Saturday, 11 July 2026, from 13:00 GMT / 15:00 CEST.
The forum will be held virtually on Zoom under the theme “Pathways, Ecosystems & Diaspora as Development.”
It will bring together Ghanaian students, early-career researchers, government representatives, and institutional partners across three continents for a conversation on the role of the diaspora in Ghana’s future.
Organisers say the GDSF marks the first time the three chapters have jointly convened a forum of this scale, signalling a coordinated approach to how organised diaspora student communities engage with Ghana’s development agenda.
The forum is anchored by three keynote addresses, each focusing on a distinct dimension of the diaspora’s relationship with Ghana.
Kofi Okyere-Darko, Director of the Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President of Ghana, will open with the Distinguished Guest’s Keynote on the national policy context for diaspora engagement.
Raymond Höptner, Member of the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany (Landtag Rheinland-Pfalz) and Spokesperson for Youth & Children’s Policy, will deliver a keynote on youth leadership, policy, and public service. Pastor Daniel Amoateng, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and founder of the Young Professionals Business Network, will close the keynote sequence with an address on purpose, leadership, and impact for the diaspora generation.
A structured panel discussion moderated by broadcast journalist Kwaku Asante will follow.
Panellists include representatives from the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana (AHK Ghana), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Ghana (FES Ghana), The German Institute of Sustainability (IDOS), and student leadership across the diaspora.
Confirmed panellists are Dr Vera Yayra Hayibor, PhD in Law, University of Glasgow and YLP Alumna, FES Ghana; Abdul-Manaf Rabiu, YLP Alumnus, FES Ghana and Former President, Ghana Students Association in Hungary; Daniel Taylor, AHK Ghana, TVET; Dr Hangwei Li, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Bonn; and Elizabeth Dansoa Osei, Oxford Alumna and Public Policy Advocate, United Kingdom.
According to NUGS-Germany, Ghana’s diaspora is one of the country’s most educated, mobile, and networked constituencies, yet national discussions about its contribution are often limited to remittances.
“The GDSF is designed to shift that framing,” the organisers stated. “By bringing students, alumni, government, industry, research institutions and civil society into a single room, the forum treats the diaspora not as a resource to be tapped but as a partner in shaping national outcomes.”
The audience will include Ghanaian trainees, undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students across Germany, the UK, China, and beyond, alongside early-career researchers, alumni, and institutional partners.
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