By Lamin Cham
The Gambian Embassy in Washington DC on Saturday started exhibiting Gambian culture to well over one thousand visitors including diplomats, investors and travellers at the 15th annual Passport DC Around the World Embassy Tour in Washington DC.
This is the first time Gambia took part in the event which featured a total of sixty embassies and will run until 31 May.
Speaking to The Standard on the phone from Washington DC, the Charge d’Affaires ad interim, Mr. Mustapha Sosseh, noted with pleasure the Gambian Embassy’s participation which he said helped a great deal to expose Gambian culture to the wider world.
Mr. Sosseh said though there was no budget allocated for such an event, the Information and Cultural Affairs Officer, Saikou Ceesay took the initiative to engage and negotiate with the organisers to successfully waive Gambia’s participation fee.
“We worked on this proposal and had the participation fee waived. Our participation at the event brought huge visibility to our culture and investment opportunities to be tapped,” Charge d’Affaires Sosseh remarked, adding that they explained to the visitors and media professionals what makes Gambia unique and a hotspot for tourism and the various investment opportunities.
The Cultural Affairs Officer at the Embassy, Saikou Ceesay said the event is a milestone for The Gambia with a unique opportunity to expose the country to many people from all parts of the world.
Mr. Ceesay said the subsequent line of action would be to invite and engage organisations of young American professionals who are the potential future leaders with a view to enhancing their understanding of Gambian culture and tradition.
The event was held at the premises of the University of Columbia, situated along Connecticut Avenue Northwest DC.
