Lebanese community awards literature and arts prizes to 5 students of University of Ghana

The Lebanese Community in Ghana have awarded the prestigious Lebanese Literature Prize and Lebanese Arts Prize to five distinguished students at the University of Ghana.

The five received the prizes as part of the 2022/2023 Vice Chancellor’s academic awards of the University and happened in the presence of the Lebanese Ambassador H.E Maher Kheir, Vice Chancellor Professor Nana Aba Amfo, Dean of the School of Languages, Dean of the School of Performing Arts, Senior State officials, Members of the Diplomatic Community among other dignitaries.

Following their introduction, the Lebanese arts and literature prizes aim at celebrating outstanding art and literature students as part of efforts to encourage more students as well as strengthen cultural cooperation between Lebanon and Ghana.

Winners of this year’s prizes include; Philip Kwadwo Nyanor (Music), Victoria Frema Boakye (Theatre Arts) and Joseph Asare (Dance).

Others include Zeinab Baseine Sulemana winner of the Lebanese Literature Prize Arabic option and Caleb Setorglo winner of the Lebanese Literature Prize French option.

Each awardee received a prize value of $300 for their distinguished performance in their respective disciplines.

Lebanese Ambassador to Ghana His Excellency Mr. Maher Kheir who presented the prizes expressed optimism that the gesture would motivate more students to pursue languages, arts and culture very seriously

He believes that the prizes will stimulate healthy competition among students of these faculties for academic excellence.

According to him, arts and languages are the adhesives that unite people and countries.

“We believe that arts and culture can build bridges between nations. For us, artists, writers and poets are the real ambassadors of any country” he stressed.

He adds that arts and literature complement each other and are the bridges that connect people and cultures together.

“Arts and Literature complement each other that’s why the Lebanese Community extended its program to include the School of Languages and the School of Performing Arts” he noted.

Ambassador Kheir maintains that this diversity and integration is needed in today’s world which is a global village.

This, he says, will help people embrace each other, remove the barriers between people and deal with injustice.

Vice Chancellor Professor Nana Aba Amfo lauded the awardees for their achievements and urged them to do more in pursuit of academic excellence.

“As you continue to pursue your dreams and aspirations, I urge you to hold on to the values of integrity, respect, commitment and loyalty that the University of Ghana holds dear while you continue to work hard to quench your thirst for knowledge. We are proud of you and look forward to witnessing the incredible impact you will undoubtedly make in our country and the world at large” she noted.

Some of the award winners expressed gratitude to the Lebanese Embassy and the Lebanese Community for the gesture.

As part of efforts to expand the Lebanese Scholarship Programme, “The Lebanese Literature Prize” was instituted for Language students while “The Lebanese Arts Prize” was introduced for arts students.

The scholarship also covers research for PhD students at the School of Languages.

This year’s set of prizes is the third in the series since the awards were instituted three years ago.