July 24, 2009 - 7:53am
Vancouver Island University (VIU) tourism professor Dr. Ken Hammer is sharing his leadership skills globally without leaving home.
Hammer led a special week-long leadership training session for a group of nine business professionals visiting Nanaimo from the Institute of Treasury Management in Ibadan,Nigeria.
“The program consisted of leadership workshops, trips into the community and discussions with community leaders including administrators at VIU, the Mayor and Councilor, Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, Daybreak Rotary Club, Tourism Nanaimo, and the Nanaimo Museum,” explained Hammer.
The group of accountants wanted to improve their management skills, and take those skills home to interact and manage people more effectively,” explained Theresa Meyer of VIU’s International Education department. The request for training came from one of VIU’s educational agents, Maple Education Inc.
“In respect to this particular group, we have not had much exposure to cultures from Africa so this brings a new dimension to us and more exposure to that part of the world,” said Meyer.
“It also provides us with the opportunity to educate ourselves as we learn from our visitors. We have had some exposure to Ghana in recent years through a five-year project funded by the Centre for International Development and Association of Canadian Community Colleges, and we have had individual students from Nigeria, but this program has provided us with new contacts and more experience in Nigeria.
“As is always the case, visitors bring economic value to the community through the money they spend on purchasing gifts and participating in tourist activities.”
Hammer said international training opportunities are great for VIU and the community economically and culturally.
“We are learning more about Nigerians and they are learning more about us,” Hammer said. “I’m sure there are formulas for economic value. Cultural value is harder to ascertain. The Nigerian visitors stayed with local families so I imagine they got a good taste of Canadian culture.”
Chief Makinde Peter Olu Boladale, spokesperson for the group, said the visitors appreciated the warm hospitality shown by their Nanaimo hosts. “The purpose of our trip is part of our efforts to acclimatize ourselves with the world,” he said. “We’ve been to the United Kingdom, the United States and now Canada. We are going home with a better understanding of the Canadian people and culture. It’s been a wonderful experience.”
Tags: In the Community
