Throughout a period of few weeks our team has been in contact with architecture students from KNUST University, Ghana (Ben, Albert, Chris, Courage and Kobby) in order to present the overall approach to our project and consider its further steps. During our conversations we have been discussing the Marine Drive Project and the details known about it, the events plan of action and most importantly, how could all students get involved in the learning process through organised workshops, lectures and tutorials. Ghanaian students were interested to find out more about QGIS mapping which is a main source that we are planning to explore when analysing the Marine Drive Project. It was a great opportunity for all of us to collaborate, come up with new ideas, learn more about the current situation in Accra and, last but not least, meet new ambitious and creative young people.

Additional notes:
1. Accra is the capital city for the Republic of Ghana on the northwest area of Africa near Togo, Benin and Nigeria. However, the capital is not the largest city in Ghana but in terms of population, it comes second after Kumasi.
2. Ghana attained independence from the United Kingdom on March 6. From 1877 to 1957, Accra served as the capital of the British Gold Coast, a period of almost 80 years.
3. Football is the most popular sport in Accra. The Accra Sports Stadium is home to the Hearts of Oak, the most famous football club in the city, and a host venue of the Black Stars, the national football team of Ghana.
4. The capital building is a castle. The seat of government for Accra is located inside of a massive building called Osu Castle. The castle was built in the 1660’s by Danish settlers and has served as the center of the area’s government for centuries.
5. Africa’s largest manmade harbor – Tema Harbor is located east of the capital’s beaches. Ghana is among the greatest exporters of goods suchs as cocoa, petroleum oils, coconuts, etc., around the globe. Cocoa helped the city grow fast Accra owes quite a bit of it’s growth to the cocoa trade.
6. The Atlantic coastline of Accra is blessed with a number of notable beaches, one of which is Labadi beach. The capital’s beachfront area is home to the Academy of African Music and Arts.

BA1 and BA2 students together with MA01 take part in a team building activity to introduce themselves and to get to know each other. Exploration of Ghanaian cuisine and movies in order to familiarize students with the cultural and historical context of Ghana, followed by introduction to previous studies, done by students from MSA, including Accra Futurism Reaseach-Method and Events 2019. Number of workshops and skill sessions involving the collaboration of students from both UK and Ghana will be presented throughout the project. Groups with participants from all years (BA1, BA2, MA1 and Ghanaian students) will take part in mapping exercises and QGIS training, as well as learn how to present the gathered information in a visual and accessible way. Model making and drawing workshops will take place allowing students to experiment with designs in order to illustrate the current Marine Drive Project proposal and analyze it. Using InDesign, architecture students will create a publication combining all data and present it in front of collaborators.