Science, Responsibility, Partnership: KASWA Seminar 2025 and Partnership Visits to Ghana

The use of resources has become a matter of global conscience and at the same time a touchstone of international partnership. The effects of climate change, unequal material flows and the externalization of ecological costs are hitting countries like Ghana particularly hard. In this situation, KAAD focuses on dialogue, cooperation and responsibility: through academic networking, long-term support for its alumnae and alumni and by promoting specific projects in the field of ecological justice. 

The trip to Ghana 2025 took Dr. Marko Kuhn, Head of the Africa Division, to three regions of the country: Accra, Kumasi and Tamale. The trip included discussions with various institutions, scientific cooperation lines and meetings with active members of our alumni network. The thematic focus was on environmental responsibility, the circular economy and the question of how science, education and society can interact in the joint struggle for sustainable development. Marko Kuhn was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Stephan Scholl (Technical University of Braunschweig and member of the KAAD Academic Committee), who thus gained an insight into the diverse network work on site. Stephan Scholl repeatedly emphasized how important this "glimpse into the workshop" was for him, since as a reviewer for the selection committee he usually deals mainly with documents and records, but here he was able to meet specific people who act as change agents in their social and academic environments. 

The conference addressed this problem not only analytically, but also structurally – as a platform for academic reflection and practice-oriented solutions. One example of this was a joint research project on PET recycling, which was presented and discussed during the seminar and is the result of an initiative by three academics associated with KAAD:
Professor Marian Asantewah Nkansah is a KAAD alumna, member of the Ghanaian partner committee and professor at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi. Together with her colleague Prof. Dr. Johannes Mawuli Awudza, who also works at KNUST, and Professor Stephan Scholl , she developed the "PlasticWasteRecycle" research project - a transdisciplinary project on PET recycling. The idea was born during the KAAD Annual Academy 2023, where Marian Nkansah and Stephan Scholl discussed the ecological and social consequences of global material flows for the first time. The project has since been awarded the German-African Innovation and Incentive Prize by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research . The collaboration combines environmental chemistry and process engineering, international partnership and regional effectiveness. The fact that "PlasticWasteRecycle" also served as the thematic impetus for the KASWA seminar at the KNUST points to the interface between research, education and KAAD networking.

Scientists from the fields of environmental chemistry, theology, social sciences and process engineering came together to discuss a wide range of topics. They discussed technical innovations in plastics recycling, the social consequences of informal disposal practices, funding structures in the field of sustainable research and the role of education and church involvement in social change. During the discussion, it became clear that ecological transformation does not begin with waste recycling, but requires awareness processes and institutional responsibility. The contributions showed the extent to which scientific analysis, political design and civil society practice are intertwined. Numerous participants also reported on their own research projects and local initiatives that combine ecological issues with social justice.

A joint church service during the seminar anchored the discussions in a spiritual perspective. The program was supplemented by theological reflections on questions of ecological responsibility. This made it clear that dealing with the social consequences of environmental destruction also includes the religious dimension, not in the sense of moral appeals, but as part of a dialog between science, faith and social practice.

Two excursions vividly illustrated what the seminar was about: The participants first visited the Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant (KCARP). This state-of-the-art plant for the treatment and recycling of municipal waste can process up to 2,400 tons of waste per day, making it the largest composting and recycling plant in Africa. In addition to composting organic waste, KCARP has modern technologies for sorting and recycling plastics, metals and paper as well as facilities for wastewater treatment and research work. The second excursion led to the project "Recycle Up! Ghana", an initiative that has been active since 2014 and empowers young people - especially schoolgirls, students and young entrepreneurs - to develop and implement their own solutions to the plastic waste problem in Ghana. This includes practical formats such as "Summer Camps", where participants acquire knowledge, explore sources of waste and design their own waste reduction projects. The participants of the KASWA seminar visited the center of the initiative, which initiates incentive systems for the collection, sorting and recycling of plastic waste in several districts of Kumasi and the surrounding area with its "Community Waste Recycling Project", including innovation centers for the development of new recycling techniques. In addition, programmes such as the "Circular Green Economy Project" contribute to training in green skills such as soap and mushroom cultivation and organic fertilizer production, thus strengthening environmental awareness, income and entrepreneurial prospects.
KAAD alumni contributed to the social impact of the seminar. For example, Dr. Vincent Kyere, environmental researcher, lecturer and KAAD alumnus, helped shape key parts of the program and shared his expertise on the situation of informal e-waste processing in Ghana. Since completing his KAAD-funded doctorate at the Center for Development Research at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Vincent Kyere has been developing concepts for sustainable resource management in his home country. In Agbogbloshie, one of the most contaminated places in the world, he is leading a pioneering project for the recovery of secondary raw materials, supported by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). His model is based on the purchase of electronic waste from collectors and professional processing by official recycling companies. This makes it possible to ensure ecological and health standards without destroying informal employment structures. Vincent Kyere is an example of the potential of long-term promotional relationships. His scientific development, from geodesy to a master's degree in geoinformation systems and a doctorate in Bonn, is closely linked to KAAD. Today, he contributes his knowledge to government, civil society and international cooperation and remains associated with the network as a voice for social and environmental responsibility.

The other stops on the trip in Accra also illustrated the breadth of the KAAD network in Ghana. In exchanges with partner institutions such as Caritas Ghana, the Catholic Secretariat of the Bishops' Conference, the Goethe Institute, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the DAAD, it became clear how closely issues of ecological transformation are linked to church, development policy and academic work. At the University of Ghana, Marko Kuhn met with the academics Dr. Nana Ama Aning Oppong-Duah and Dr. Martha A. Awo, who conduct research on social transformation and resource policy. In meetings with KAAD alumnae Joyce Eledi Kuusaana and Afua Antwiwaa Abasa, who now work as coordinators at GIZ in the "Participation, Accountability and Integrity for a Resilient Democracy" program, it became clear how strongly the West African alumni network is anchored in society. The exchange with Dr. Emmanuel Tasun Tidorchibe, lecturer at Wisconsin International University College, also underlined KAAD's long-term presence in the country's academic sector.

The seminar in Kumasi opened up an intensive space for reflection – supported by the network of West African KAAD alumni, underpinned by academic cooperation and interwoven with church responsibility. The thematic arc of the trip then continued in northern Ghana, where visits to long-standing church partners and the alumni seminar of the East African KASEA association were on the agenda. This made it clear just how much KAAD has become a platform for academic exchange, transcontinental partnership and joint action in the name of global justice.