The United Planet Ambassador Club of the University of The Gambia (UTG), a non-profit making organisation dedicated to the promotion of cross-cultural understanding and friendship among people, last Wednesday began a four-day cultural awareness workshop at the Daddy Jobe Comprehensive Secondary School, located along MDI road, Kanifing.  

The workshop brought together students from the Greater Banjul Upper Basic School and the Daddy Jobe Comprehensive School, to foster intercultural understanding, including cultural exchange among the students, that will lead to the creation of an autonomous association.

In his welcome remarks, Johnson, a teacher of Daddy Jobe Comprehensive School said the coming together of the two schools to create one association was timely, adding that the promotion of cultural awareness and tolerance among students is paramount in peace building.  He expressed optimism that the autonomous association, when fully established, will help in uniting people of different cultures.  Johnson further observed that the workshop would help to increase cultural awareness of students. He then urged participants to endeavour to disseminate the information about the association to the grassroots.

Biram Saidybah, president of the United Planet Ambassador Club of the University of The Gambia, said his organisation since its inception in September 2008, has partnered with other clubs of the UTG. Saidybah explained their commitment to unite the different cultures in The Gambia by strengthening the club to all the learning institutions in the country, including tertiary institutions, senior secondary schools and the wider community.  According to him, the empowerment of children is a way to prepare them for  a bright future,  the eradication of poverty, as well as the reduction of the current trends of the HIV/Aids epidemic and other burden issues around the world.  

Saidybah further told the participants that they are going to gain a lot of worthy knowledge during the programme in the areas of fostering multicultural diversity and building of tolerance and understanding in multicultural and multi-ethnic within their communities.

For Osee Romeo, coordinator of the Ambassador Club of Cameroon, the mission of his club is to encourage its members to recognise and appreciate their cultural values and diversity.  He then assured them of the Cameroon Ambassadors club’s bilateral partnership with the Gambian  association.