Addressing packaging education in Africa

摘要

Lagos, Nigeria. The destination conjures up a variety of imaginations. I grew up in South Africa but nothing could have prepared me for the highly populated, super-resourced, bustling West African nation. A quarter of Africa's population lives in Nigeria. It is the seventh most populous country (an estimated 200 million people) in the world with 42 percent of its population zero to 14 years of age. It is the world's eighth largest exporter of petroleum. It is a country of huge extremes and I feel privileged to have been asked to participate recently in a five day residential training program (RTP) focusing on Packaging Technology education. The World Packaging Organisation (WPO) approached the AIP to deliver this week-long training program. Thirty-four students from Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya and South Africa attended; all with a strong desire to learn more in the field of the is lost through poor/ineffective/insufficient packaging. All participants keenly absorbed information and their eagerness to improve their knowledge in this field was most evident in their final project presentation on the fifth day.