Women's museum for The Gambia

For the first time in the history of art and culture of the country, a women's museum has been  established.

This somewhat rare and spirited museum is run and coordinated by Isha Fofana, a renowned Gambian female artist and coordinator of Mama Africa Art Gallery, located right on the first junction of Brusubi roundabout. The women's museum is located in Batokunku village, Kombo South of the Western Region (WR). The project upon completion will host and serve as an archive for the life efforts and makings of women in Africa from pre-colonial, colonial, Independence and post Independence era.

The first Gambian women's museum is expected among other things  to the give voice, recognise talents, achievements and aspiration of women in The Gambia, Africa and the world at large. The museum is also expected to be totally different from other women's museums found in other African countries such as Senegal, Mali and Sudan. This is due to the character and style the museum will adopt in terms of artefacts and historical documentations on lives and roles of women over centuries.

The Gambian artist recently returned from the Republic of Germany,where she resided for the past couple of years. She returned in response to the Gambian leader's call for Gambians in the diaspora  to invest back home. Isha Fofana held series of arts exhibitions within and outside Germany. She is widely acclaimed for her spirited artistic work and talent used mostly towards promoting arts and culture in Africa and beyond, especially The Gambia.

Isha Fofana, in a recent chat with the Arts and Culture at the site of the newly built women's museum in Batokunku,Western Region (WR), spoke  extensively on the aims and objectives of the museum, her life as a female artist both in The Gambia and the Republic of Germany, and the arts and culture industry of The Gambia. The female artist explained that the women's museum project aimed among other things towards promoting the welfare of the under-privileged girls and women in The Gambia, Africa and the world at large. 

To serve as a research and skills training centre for both men and women, especially school going girls in the areas of painting, drawing, batik, clay making among others. The project is  also meant to promote the spirit of arts and culture, education, tourism and create  employment opportunities for youths in the country. "Women's museum or museums are still very rare in Africa. The idea is however quite different from normal museums and this difference will hopefully generate interesting and topical issues in Africa and beyond. "A new thing is born in The Gambia and I am  appealing to all Gambians to work hard in good faith and move the country to where it ought to be. The arts and culture industry is doing quite well but a lot remains to be done, in terms of discovering talents and creativity,"  she said.

Isha Fofana spoke extensively on the purpose for establishing the women's museum project. According to her, empowerment of women has always been part and parcel of life" . I am doing all I can towards empowerment of women in The Gambia and beyond such was the idea behind establishing a women's museum right here at Batokunku, which would serve as a research and training centre for both sexes, especially the school going girls. I am extremely enjoying what I am doing as an artist and I will do what I can and the rest will follow. A lot has been done in the arts and culture industry of the country, but a lot more needs to be done. interms of discovering talents and creativity among the youths.The museum project will impact possitively on the tourism sector of the country," she said.

The Gambian female artist further explained that the museum will greatly expose people to life, role and activities of women over centuries ago. She therefore called on the general public to contribute their quota towards achieving the objectives of the museum by bringing in detailed information about their great personalities both alive and dead. According to the museum's coordinator, these photos and information will be displayed within the museum for public inspection. Photographs of people like the vice president and minister of Women's Affairs , Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy will be on display in the museum.

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German Tour Operators And Journalists Arrive In The Gambia

The Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA)  and partners in the industry; such as Gambia Hotel Association and the Travel Association of the Gambia, yesterday, took group of journalists and tour operators from Germany to a familiarisation tour, dubbed FAM and Press Trip, to enable them experience Gambian tourism products and services.

In her presentation, the acting director general of GTA, Fatou Beyai-Baji, assured that within the next few days the  high calibre professional travel journalists and tour operators will experience the best of the smiling coast in terms of tourism attraction -  ranging from exotic eco-camps, trendy resorts along the coastline, to cultural encounters.

She  therefore expressed her pride to be associated with the FAM Trip. “The Gambian market is of great significance to them and we want to leave no stone unturned to make impact in that market,”  she remarked. This FAM and Press Trip, she hoped,  will lay the foundation in their effort to penetrate the German market.

Charnel Hobeika, chairman of Tourism and Travel Association of The Gambia, said the association was originally formed as the Association of Ground Tour Operators and Equipment Hirers. The Association was purposely established with the objective of providing a well coordinated and improved service so as to ensure a safe and comfortable passage of visitors in The Gambia.

According to Hobeika, the Association is totally committed to improving standards and safety to the highest level required in the interest of the modern traveller. “Working closely with the Gambia Tourism Authority and other association such as the Gambia Hotel Association, the Association of Small Scale Enterprises in tourism and responsible tourism partnership, we are able to improve our services and quality of our products. The ground tour operator members of the TTAG do work and represent major international tour operators,” he remarked.

Ida Cham-Njie, the chairperson of  the Association of Small Scale Enterprises in Tourism (ASSET), said Gambia wants to redouble its effort in tourism in order to improve its tourism sectors by building more eco-tourism centres across the country, which will not only benefit the tourists but also the communities living there. She said Gambia is a vibrant environment for the tourists who do come for holidays, and that Gambia is achieving its sustainable tourism dream which she noted, will also help the country to generate more income.

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Gambia Tourist Season Kicks Off

The Gambia 2009-2010 tourists’ season opened Thursday at the Banjul International Airport with the arrival of the first batch of more than 200 tourists from Sweden and Denmark.

Most holiday makers coming to the Gambia come mainly from the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries.

Speaking to journalist shortly after the arrival of the tourists, Morten Evensen, the area manager for Thomas Cook (a tour operator) said even though the world economic crisis will impact negatively on tourism, he was convinced that this year’s tourist season will be slightly better for the Gambia than predictions made by sceptics. He said the Gambia was a cheap destination and that will attract several tourists from Scandinavia.

He revealed that his company plans to bring more than 600 tourists to the Gambia every week. He said the bookings they have for this year’s season were promising.

Lamin Saho, the marketing director at the Gambia Tourism Authority, said they were facing several challenges as a result of the global economic crisis, but he was quick to add that they are now exploring new markets like Russia and Nigeria.

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Gambia commissions a new craft market for tourism development

The Gambian Minister of Youth and Sports, Sheriff Gomez, on Wednesday officially commissioned a multi-million dalasis Bungalow Beach Craft Market, at a ceremony held at the premises of the new complex in Kotu, about 11 kilometres outside Banjul, the capital.

In his keynote speech, Minister Gomez told the gathering that global trends in tourism development are constantly changing to meet the demands of new and more sophisticated type of tourists, who are yearning to experience new things with a high taste for quality. "Therefore, if The Gambia is to compete and position itself firmly in this dynamic business of tourism, it is prudent that we should strive to craft new products and improve on the existing ones to meet the ever changing taste of discerning travellers and visitors to our beautiful country," he said.

The Gambia, he indicated, is already a renowned tourist destination which attracts a large number of tourists annually, and has all necessary features to become the distinctive tourism destination envisioned in the Vision 2020. The market, he added, will not only complement government’s poverty alleviation efforts in terms of enhancing employment opportunities for Gambian youths and women, “but it would also go a long way in adding value to our tourism product.”

For her part, the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Nancy Njie, said to remain competitive in this region, there is the need to get the products right. "We must have the right facilities and standards. The new Gambia calls for new attitudes and new products," she stated. She spoke about the contribution of women to national development, expressing delight about the fact that out of the 149 vendors at the market, the women occupy at least one hundred stalls.

In his turn, the chairman of the Gambia Tourism Authority board of directors, Alieu Mboge said the construction of the market was in line with the policy of creating a conducive environment for the locals to showcase enterprise and other skills to the delight of the visitors in the tourism industry.

The project, he added, is a real success as it has demonstrated what can be achieved through local enterprise, talent and expertise. Mboge went: "It is in line with sustainable tourism development and our efforts to empower the youths and women of this country.”