Back and Next - Back and NextCelebrating 2 years of existence
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Global Unification – The Gambia chapter, last Saturday, August 2nd, 2008, celebrated its 2nd year existence with a symposium on the theme: ‘Humanity begins with me.’ The one day program which took place at the KMC Chambers, was succeeded by a social get-together,which was punctuated with presentations by celebrated personalities who spoke on various topics.
Dr Alieu Badara Saja Taal, a senior lecturer at the University of Gambia, dwelt on the significance of peace building and conflict resolution in the development of a society.
Society, he said, has to learn how to minimise problems. He singled out The Gambia as exemplary, as it had been able to escape the prevailing spree of conflicts that dominate life in the African continent. Dr Taal attributed this to the socio-cultural background of the people of The Gambia (cross-cultural and religious connections); all of this, he said, have their base entrenched in our constitution.
To this end, he said, the fact that countries like The Gambia has escaped these conflicts should arouse interest for further exploration
Dr Taal ascribed all these to an integration process which he said, had started ‘many, many years ago.’
‘If there is anybody who is capable of peace building,’ he argued, ‘it is Gambians.
Gambians are easily adoptable. We have destroyed ‘castism.’ He described religion as one of the most important reason of co-existence in the country.
The way we do our politics, he went on, is not done in any other country in the sub-region, describing ‘freedom of taking part in elections’ as a very rare commodity in other parts of Africa. He said that Gambians have a culture that makes them feel ashamed of certain inhuman things. He said that the size of the country has also brought its people closer together. ‘Our attitude of togetherness, he concluded, makes it difficult for people to exploit us as Gambians.’
Ebrima S Dem, the National Representative of Global Unification – The Gambia, dilated on the mission and vision of GU, describing it as keen for the unification of the continent. He told the gathering that the concept of forming the chapter in The Gambia had croped during the pre-sessions of the historic African Union Summit hosted by The Gambia in 2006. He hailed partners of the organisation for their continued support, and promised that GU was keen in ensuring that its enshrined goals are met.
Mr Shiekh Omar Faye, speaking on the topic: Importance of gender mainstreaming in national development, said that there had been heightened global interest in improving on women’s advancement for sometime now. Gender, he said, is as old as the society.
We must not see women as threat, rather as partners in development. Women, he went on, need men just as much as men need women, advising against seeing the opposite sex as threat in anyhow. Mr Faye had unreserved praises for The Gambia for its progress in mainstreaming. He however warned that it would take some time for men to accommodate women in the mainstream decision making bodies.
‘The importance of mainstreaming,’ he emphasized, ‘can’t be achieved without certain key factors entrenched in the attitude of the entire society. He moaned that even highly educated people are not willing to listen to anything about gender, saying that ‘gender is not a monster.’
For Mr Mustapha Kebbeh, a renowned youth activist, all conflicts in Africa have economic connotations. The youth, who are mostly used in these destructive ventures, he said, mostly have nothing to gain at the end of the day. Mr Kebbeh was speaking on the topic: ‘the role of the youth in the development of society.
He admonished that some section of the youth in society have sort of formed their own culture, engaging themselves in rebelling against any other culture that is against theirs.
These people, he told the audience, need help. And that, he said, should be the role of this generation of youths. He lamented on what he called: ‘Sub-culture formation, wherein a section of the youth feel that people outside their ‘voes’(circles) were bad or out of tune with the reality.
He also delved on the ‘Babylon syndrome,’ calling for policies to safeguard the fabrics of the society, while urging the youth to take advantage of the numerous opportunities in place for them. He also called for the diversification of economic activities. ‘The life of the society, he said, is in our hand.’
The symposium was characterised by a documentary show on the role of women in developing a society.
Dr Alieu Badara Saja Taal, a senior lecturer at the University of Gambia, dwelt on the significance of peace building and conflict resolution in the development of a society.
Society, he said, has to learn how to minimise problems. He singled out The Gambia as exemplary, as it had been able to escape the prevailing spree of conflicts that dominate life in the African continent. Dr Taal attributed this to the socio-cultural background of the people of The Gambia (cross-cultural and religious connections); all of this, he said, have their base entrenched in our constitution.
To this end, he said, the fact that countries like The Gambia has escaped these conflicts should arouse interest for further exploration
Dr Taal ascribed all these to an integration process which he said, had started ‘many, many years ago.’
‘If there is anybody who is capable of peace building,’ he argued, ‘it is Gambians.
Gambians are easily adoptable. We have destroyed ‘castism.’ He described religion as one of the most important reason of co-existence in the country.
The way we do our politics, he went on, is not done in any other country in the sub-region, describing ‘freedom of taking part in elections’ as a very rare commodity in other parts of Africa. He said that Gambians have a culture that makes them feel ashamed of certain inhuman things. He said that the size of the country has also brought its people closer together. ‘Our attitude of togetherness, he concluded, makes it difficult for people to exploit us as Gambians.’
Ebrima S Dem, the National Representative of Global Unification – The Gambia, dilated on the mission and vision of GU, describing it as keen for the unification of the continent. He told the gathering that the concept of forming the chapter in The Gambia had croped during the pre-sessions of the historic African Union Summit hosted by The Gambia in 2006. He hailed partners of the organisation for their continued support, and promised that GU was keen in ensuring that its enshrined goals are met.
Mr Shiekh Omar Faye, speaking on the topic: Importance of gender mainstreaming in national development, said that there had been heightened global interest in improving on women’s advancement for sometime now. Gender, he said, is as old as the society.
We must not see women as threat, rather as partners in development. Women, he went on, need men just as much as men need women, advising against seeing the opposite sex as threat in anyhow. Mr Faye had unreserved praises for The Gambia for its progress in mainstreaming. He however warned that it would take some time for men to accommodate women in the mainstream decision making bodies.
‘The importance of mainstreaming,’ he emphasized, ‘can’t be achieved without certain key factors entrenched in the attitude of the entire society. He moaned that even highly educated people are not willing to listen to anything about gender, saying that ‘gender is not a monster.’
For Mr Mustapha Kebbeh, a renowned youth activist, all conflicts in Africa have economic connotations. The youth, who are mostly used in these destructive ventures, he said, mostly have nothing to gain at the end of the day. Mr Kebbeh was speaking on the topic: ‘the role of the youth in the development of society.
He admonished that some section of the youth in society have sort of formed their own culture, engaging themselves in rebelling against any other culture that is against theirs.
These people, he told the audience, need help. And that, he said, should be the role of this generation of youths. He lamented on what he called: ‘Sub-culture formation, wherein a section of the youth feel that people outside their ‘voes’(circles) were bad or out of tune with the reality.
He also delved on the ‘Babylon syndrome,’ calling for policies to safeguard the fabrics of the society, while urging the youth to take advantage of the numerous opportunities in place for them. He also called for the diversification of economic activities. ‘The life of the society, he said, is in our hand.’
The symposium was characterised by a documentary show on the role of women in developing a society.
Author: by Kemo Cham
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