There were around 200 participants at the June negotiation workshops, which included our university’s undergraduate and international graduate students, plus students from various high schools in the Kanto area.

Negotiation in English is not easy, but the participants worked hard to find solutions to ending a citizen led polio vaccination boycott. In each negotiation room there were six stakeholders: the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Médecins Sans Frontières, Nigerian Ministry of Health, the Kano State Government and Local Community Organization leaders. Learning how to communicate with and ask questions of other stakeholders was something everyone practiced during this workshop.

Communication is an essential skill for many professions; and the GCW was designed for students to learn the basic skills of negotiation, realize their own English communication level early on in university, and set concrete goals/ways for improvement.

We hope these students continue to broaden their perspectives and to work on improving their communication skills in the coming years!