New GYINers oriented on GYIN concept

By Mariam Saine-Sanyang

Gambia GYINers

The Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN)-Gambia Chapter on Monday 26 October, 2015 held a daylong presentation on the networks programmes and activities as well as its scope of operation in the country and beyond at its secretariat in Churchill’s Town to orient its new members called 

GYINers on the concept of GYIN.

Presented by the GYIN Gambia coordinator, Mamadou Edrisa Njie, the gathering brought together GYINers from West Coast Region and Kanifing Municipality who are interested in the daily affairs of the organization.

“GYIN-Gambia Chapter has launched a massive campaign to be organizing a biweekly orientation ‘I am a GYINer’ to orientation our new members,” says the GYIN Gambia coordinator, while delivering his keynote remarks during the opening ceremony of the occasion.

'Global Day of Citizen Action’ seeks to engage citizens around the world

An upcoming global event will seek to engage citizens around the world on a set of human rights we don’t often hear much about: “civic space”. The ‘Global Day of Citizen Action’, to be held on Saturday 16 May 2015, will ask citizens whether they feel free to speak out, organise and take action, a group of rights that collectively may be called “civic space”.

“In many parts of the world, freedom of expression, association and assembly, or more simply - the rights to speak out, organise and take action - are under threat,” said Zubair Sayed, Head of Communication at CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance. “The Global Day of Citizen Action therefore seeks to ask ordinary citizens what they think about their rights in their country and, in so doing, to help create awareness about the idea of `civic space’,” Sayed said.

During the last few years, many countries have passed laws that restrict citizen freedoms or make operations or financing for civil society groups difficult; in some cases they’ve increased the surveillance of ordinary citizens, activists and civil society organisations; and in others there’s been direct repression and arrests. Civil society also faces threats from non-state actors, including powerful corporate entities, extremist right-wing and fundamentalist groups.

BAJ-Gambia Social Secretary Among 2014 Earth Hour Champions

Mamadou Edrisa Njie Social Secretary BAJ-Gambia

If a civilisation is judged by the wisdom of its ways, the 21^stcentury owes considerable gratitude to one journalist cum social justice activist in The Gambia Mr Mamadou Edrisa Njie’s of using  the social media-digital journalism- in the past few years which has revolutionized the way Gambian people understand their relationship with the social media. 

“Congratulations on your successful selection to join WalktoMali! We received a record 77 number of applications from 20 countries and the quality of these was truly unparalleled. So you have every reason to feel proud for being selected as a WalktoMali participant.Bravo again!” writes Mr. Oludotun Babayemi, country director, WWF-Earth Hour Nigeria. 

On January 18, 2014 twelve Earth Hour Champions, including our own Mamadou Edrisa Njie, Biodiversity Action Journalists- The Gambia (BAJ-Gambia) social secretary set out to empower 14 local communities in the West Africa region. 

TheWalktoMali campaign engaged 12 Earth Hour Champions who embark on a 3,404km round road trip, from Nigeria to Mali, between Saturday January 18and Saturday, March 15, 2014.

The campaign is an annual affair and the Earth Hour team in Nigeria launched WalktoMali to promote the culture of peace and environmental sustainability across seven West African countries. The 3,404km round road trip WalktoMalitakes the 12 champions through Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Cote D’ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin.  

Njie, a participant in the two-month project says “Earth Hour is the single largest mass participation event of its kind in the world. But it only works if you're in. Because Earth Hour is about you and me – the beautiful, bold idea that all of us together can inspire climate action. And in 2014, we're launching something new. Are you in?”