ODU Hosting Visit by Norfolk Sister City Delegation from Tema, Ghana

A delegation from Tema, Ghana, will visit Hampton Roads next week, as the African city is officially "twinned" with Norfolk.

Tema Mayor Robert Kempes Ofosuware will lead a 10-member delegation from his city to downtown Norfolk for a ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 27.

As part of the visit, Old Dominion University President John R. Broderick will host a luncheon, along with the Norfolk Sister City Association, to celebrate the partnership between the cities. The luncheon will be held on campus at noon in the Hampton/Newport News Room of Webb Center.

The official twinning ceremony will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Waterside. For information about that event, contact staff@norfolkvasistercities.org.

Norfolk Sister City Association, a member of Sister Cities International, seeks to foster global understanding, friendship and cooperation through the forging of continuing relationships and the promotion of people-to-people exchanges between Norfolk and its sister cities.

The similarities between Norfolk and Tema make sense for pairing the two cities.

Originally a small fishing village, Tema grew following the construction of a large harbor in 1961, and is now Ghana's largest seaport. It is linked to the capital, Accra, by the country's busiest rail line. Tema, with a population of 209,000, is already a twin city of San Diego and Greenwich, England.

The Oct. 27 ceremony in Norfolk will mark the first time a Virginia city is twinned with one from West Africa.

For information about the luncheon, contact ODU's Office of University Events at http://www.odu.edu/ao/univevents, or 683-3116.

This article was posted on: October 22, 2010