Tabora Bojang
The youth of Senegal and The Gambia have renewed their commitment in working closely to strengthen ties and push for more integration between the two countries in the areas of cultural, economic, political and social ties.
A six-member delegation from the Senegalese civil society under the auspices of Y’en a Marre recently concluded a four-day exchange visit to The Gambia.
The delegation which was hosted by two leading organizations, Beakanyang and Gum Sa Bopa, had successful meetings with various Gambian civil society organisations and local authorities geared towards providing the CSOs of the two countries the opportunity to interact, exchange ideas, best practices and to learn from each other.
The team discussed with their Gambian counterparts the need to “establish projects that could bring about more Senegambian integration and also to initiate a project called mboka or mbading meaning we belong to the same family which is expected to be initiated in Gambia and Senegal”.
The goal of the Mboka or Mbading project according to the press release is to open several Mboka spaces in the two countries that will allow for sharing culture, promoting the arts and stimulating local level civic education.
According to the officials the network this project will also aim at making Senegambian citizens aware of the crucial issue of establishing a strong common citizenship culture and mobilizing citizens to invest in the arts through the Mboka’s area that promote interculturality and experience sharing.
Nfamara Jawneh, the executive director of Beakanyang said; “Beakanyang is pleased to be associated with this initiative as a human right and pro- democracy organisation we feel like it is our obligation to be associated with any genuine course and we felt this is one of that meant to promote unity, culture and understanding between the people of Senegal and the Gambia.
He said the Gambia civil society organisations are appreciative of the initiative and assured their Senegalese counterparts of t their commitment and full support to ensure the success of the MBOKA and MBADING project that seeks to consolidate the gains that have been registered in the Network.
A senior official of Y’en a Marre said the two countries have the opportunity to set a leading example for the unification and integration of the sub-region and the world at large in terms of partnerships, integration, sharing experiences and capacity development. “This is why we realise that our coming here will serve as a stepping stone toward achieving a more integrated senegambia and it will be something very important for the future of the continent”
