Press Release
Beakanyang is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Omar Malmo Sambou as its new board chairperson.
Mr. Sambou replaces Mr. Yaya Sumareh who successfully served as our chair for two consecutive terms.
Omar Malmo Sambou is a Lecturer and program coordinator of environmental science at the University of The Gambia. He is currently a Ph.D student at the University of Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia. Omar has over ten years of experience in voluntarism and activism on environmental protection, social justice and climate change in The Gambia. He has a verse experience in working with communities, action and awareness-based NGOs and CBOs on contemporary environmental issues in The Gambia. He is an Accredited Multidisciplinary Researcher and has been involved in climate change negotiations for The Gambia at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Omar holds a BSc (Hons) and Master’s (Hons) in Environmental Science from the University of The Gambia and University of Brawijaya respectively. He is a former President of the University of The Gambia Students’ Union (UTGSU) and National Union of Gambian Students (NUGS). A former Teacher and Course Instructor at The Gambia College.
He had previously supported Beakanyang on our environment programs in URR.
Mr. Sambou brings to Beakanyang his wealth of experience, leadership and deep understanding of climate action and social justice.
He is the youngest member of our board and the first young person to serve as our board chair.
Commenting on the development, Chairman Sambou said: “It is a great pleasure and a challenge for me to be appointed board chairperson of a renowned organization like Beakanyang. Such appointments are done on trust and confidence. I am thankful for the trust and confidence they have in me. To the best of my abilities, I will give the institution all the support I can. I hope to contribute and to learn from the team.”
Meanwhile, we thank our out-going chair Mr. Sumareh for his selfless service to the organization over the years while wishing Mr. Sambou a successful tenure.
