SANKOFA Semester in Ghana

"Renewed motivation" "Life-changing"

Live 10 Weeks Abroad!

PROGRAMS ARE OPEN TO STUDENTS FROM ACROSS ALL MAJORS & DISCIPLINES, ALL US COLLEGE  & HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS  & THE COMMUNITY!

The paradox of education is precisely this—that as one begins to become conscious, one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.~James Baldwin, 1963

Globu Ya Afrika Study Abroad Academy was established in 2020 through the Department of Dance after a successful ten-year track record of offering short-term study abroad programs. Our programs focus on the African Diaspora as a learning ground. Less than 4% of study abroad program offerings from undergraduate institutions in the United States offer opportunities to study abroad in African countries.

Options to study abroad in African countries are rare in comparison to other SA offerings and account for 3.9% of international programs offered through U.S. public and private higher education institutions (IIE, 2018).


Our students have studied dance in Ghana, Cuba, Haiti, and Benin with developing programs in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. “SANKOFA SEMESTER IN GHANA,” is an 18-week, multi-disciplinary, and cultural immersion study abroad program in Ghana, West Africa. Students may earn up to 17 UC/CSU GE transferable semester units! This program is coordinated through the Office of International Education and the Department of Dance at Laney College. SANKOFA SEMESTER IN GHANA is open to students of all majors, educators, and the community. This is an intergenerational program whereby students, community, and educators participate in unity to build intercultural competency awareness while participating in African cultural-based programs abroad.

Globu Ya Afrika programs do not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex or sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, national origin or disability.


  • Globu Ya Afrika translates as “African Globe” in Swahili language.
  • The Globu Ya Afrika Study Abroad Academy was established in the Department of Dance to bring more equity to study abroad for community college students with the goal to increase participation in study abroad by students who face financial challenges, are low-income, students of color, and are first-time international travelers.
  • SANKOFA SEMESTER IN GHANA is a collaboration between the Peralta Community College District’s Office of International Education, Laney College Department of Dance, and the University of Cape Coast in Cape Coast, Ghana established through a formal memorandum of understanding to offer students an 18-week student exchange and study abroad experience.
  • SANKOFA SEMESTER IN GHANA is a multidisciplinary global education program that is open to the community and other participating community colleges.
  • Participants will be hosted by the University of Cape Coast in Cape Coast, Ghana, and One Africa Health and Wellness Center in Elmina, Ghana.

Are you an educator from a community college, university or other public/private institution?

Why reinvent the wheel? Join us!

Check back to see our growing list of participants who integrate Sankofa Semester in Ghana into their programs!

  • Peralta Colleges (Departments of English, Sociology, African Studies)
  • Diablo Valley College (Hip-Hop Music class)
  • University of Cape Coast (Dance, Music, Education, Africana Studies departments)
  • Kumasi Centre for Arts and Culture, Ghanaian national/local institutions industries, and more have joined in the fun- together.

To learn how to get involved, contact: Andrea Lee, Department Chair-(510) 833-8950, avlee@peralta.edu.

 Click here! SANKOFA SEMESTER IN GHANA interest form.

Below: Students, staff, and faculty from Laney College, Merritt College, College of Alameda, and Diablo Valley College-2019 Journey to Panafest program.

Below: Service learning day in Tamale, Northern region of Ghana- laying a foundation for the community health center.

Below: Students share stories, play games, and learn from principals and teachers at Ebenezer pre-school, Cape Coast, Ghana

Below: Participants learn about Pan-Africanism and Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah-the first president of independent Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra, Ghana.

Below: Welcome ceremony in Ashaiman…an Ewe community (mostly from Anyanko Village in the Volta Region) now living in Ghana’s capital city of Accra. 

Below: Sustainable agriculture; middle passage oral history; shea butter making, girlhood education, and rural lifestyles are just a few of the topics explored in Ghana’s northern village of Saakpuli.

Below: Dance Study Abroad feasibility study trip with Dr. Eileen White (former VP of Instruction-Laney College); Laney students; and community participants Young Gifted and Black/YGB of Oakland, CA, featured with YGB Director, Hodari Davis, and YGB founders Professors Laroilyn and Raymond Davis.

Below: Students from College of Alameda, UC Santa Cruz, University of Central Arkansas, and Clark Atlanta University prepare to enter Kakum National Rainforest for a hike and world-famous canopy walk.<a href=”http://Community go…Ghana get-down from Andrea Vonny Lee on Vimeo.

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Below: Canopy Walk success! Kakum National Park, Western Region-Ghana. Congratulations Charles!