THREE Nigerian students scheduled to attend the World Congress of Global Partnership for Young Women at Duksung Women’s University, South Korea, will no longer be able to do so.
According to Korea Times, invitations issued by the university to three Nigerian students and a number of other students from other West African countries had now been cancelled, following concerns about the scourge of Ebola virus currently ravaging parts of West Africa.
The event, billed to take place from August 4 to 15, is to be hosted by the university, in partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
“The school announced that it cancelled all invitations issued to three students from Nigeria. Also, students from countries in other parts of Africa will have to undergo additional health inspections before participating in the event,” the students’ union president of Duksung told Korea Times.
It was gathered that several female leaders, as well as about 500 students drawn from 32 countries (including eight African countries) are expected to attend the event.
It was also learnt that all the students invited are to be lodged in the school’s hostels.
As many as 15,000 people were reported to have signed an online petition against what was termed “dangerous invitations”.
Korean students who had applied to serve as volunteers during the conference were also reported to have cancelled their applications and joined the protest.
Not all invitations, however, were cancelled, and the event, the organisers said, will take place as scheduled.
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