GAM WRIT ERS

Writers’ Association of The Gambia Launching Ceremony

Author: Publisher | Date: 16-06-10 | Topic: National News

On behalf of the nascent Writers’ Association of The Gambia (WAG), I bid you all a most hearty welcome to this formal ‘confirmation’ ceremony of the Association. I call this meeting a ‘confirmation’ rather than a launching, because, since its inception in August 2009, when the current Executive Committee was informally identified at the second meeting of the assembled cross-section of writers of the Gambian community, the WAG has been a defacto reality in structure, with fully fledged, corporate, programming and budgetary operations, which were based on a mandate that has been empowered by a newly formulated, legally registered Constitution. So it is historically appropriate to daub this event today, an official recognition of the already christened infant WAG, which has now evolved into a youthful literary mechanism that is ready for take-over by a new group of surrogate administrators.
Consequently, the incumbent Executive Committee is rightly gratified and proud of its short but land-mark achievements, in resurrecting the WAG, phoenix-like out of the ashes of the erstwhile, defunct organization that was set up by Gambian Writers, making it to assume a robust New Millennium form that is energized by a more inclusive vision and proactive mission outreach. It is therefore, this viable Association, with its more aggressive face and vigorous perspectives that we are pleased to launch and hand-over at this ceremony, today.
However, this dynamism and inclusiveness, which have been generated by and are being nurtured within the WAG, have not been achieved without challenges. The principal one was presented by the inexorable need to sustain a sizeable attendance of members at meetings. The fact that the WAG has had to wrestle with dwindling levels of quorum has dictated the expediency of dispensing with the exact proportion to constitute a quorum, which is enshrined in our Constitutional prescriptions, in the interest of operational effectiveness. We have therefore been constrained, to carry-on, regardless, at meetings “where only two or three were gathered together” in the name of the Association. This is a prevailing constraint of which the new Executive Committee should be mindful, but plod on, undauntedly.
This factor would need to be addressed imaginatively, in order to maximise viva voce communications efficiency. Nevertheless, the frustrating vagaries of this problem have been contained by the present Executive, thanks to the communications leverage that has been afforded by modern informatic technology, through the use of e-mail networking.
The other dilemma posed, is inherent in the ‘newness’ of the emergence of the WAG on the Gambian literary scene. It involves the WAG’s struggle to encourage all its potential members to register by paying their small financial contribution of 300 Dalasis to gain Constitutional recognition and electoral entitlement. As a result, the WAG approach to liquidity assurance has been inclined to resort to a quest for external donations, in times of disbursement need. This tendency has been deemed untenable, because it is likely to inculcate a proclivity towards a glorified mendicant culture, which is as undignified as it is unsustainable. We exhort, therefore, all members present here to remedy their obligation to the financial viability of the WAG, by up-fronting their subscriptions, before the end of this ceremony, today.
Although the WAG Executive Committee has not been privileged to usher into fruition its plans to address the pecuniary weakness of the Association by mounting a series of concrete fund-raising activities, we exhort the new Executive to take onboard income generation initiatives as a top priority, in its immediate programming interventions. In this regard, permit me to pledge the full support and collaboration of the out-going Executive Committee members, to make any of such activities a successful joint-venture with them.
In the area of corporate identity, the cohesiveness of the ‘new-look’ WAG could be threatened by generational gaps, ‘old-score’ personality squabbles, manifested in a clash of pioneering egos, owing to the exerting of disparate degrees of fervour, as well as long-distance separation. To ward off these potential “demons” of progress and harmony, the WAG Executive has strenuously pursued a policy thrust that is governed by strategies to reach out and captivate both young and old, Gambians in the Diaspora and even expatriates living within the Gambian ethos, who are endowed with natural literary talent, by encouraging them to continue writing or to muster the boldness to present their works for publication.
This approach has been pursued because it is the duty of Writers of The Gambia to enhance the cultural development of our national community by enriching the treasury of our literary heritage. Furthermore, we have an obligation to create awareness among the Gambian public and the international community about the growing rich national pantheon of creative and scholarly literature. Gambian society has a cultural ‘right to know’ as well as the expectation of having its reading pleasure heightened, while it is being replenished with a continual out flowing of local writings.
It is this most significant mandate for encouragement of the flourishing of cultural genius, with which I, in my capacity as the inaugural President of the WAG, would like to entrust the successor Executive body. To this end, the existing WAG Executive has embarked upon modalities for publication of its first compiled ‘Anthology of Gambian Poetry’, which has been disrupted by the prevailing time constraint that has been dictated by the brevity of its current tenure of office. I exhort, therefore, the in-coming administration to pursue the finalization of the publication of this long-standing poetic compendium, to transform it into a book, for use by students and all who appreciate poetry, generally.
Emanating out of the WAG’s meager liquidity status is the major hurdle of lack of rented or self-owned corporate space in which to establish a permanent office and hold bi-monthly meetings. For this reason, the WAG has not been able to set up computers and internet facilities that would render communications more effective. This is aggravated by the fact that although members have personal e-mail boxes, they have to contend with the inconvenience and delays that are inherent in their incessant quest for internet, word processing and editing access at commercial stations, around the Greater Banjul Area. To surmount this spatial obstacle, the WAG has had to resort to the use of a meeting venue, which has been graciously provided on demand, at the University of The Gambia, by its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kah.
Permit me to acknowledge here, this gesture of magnanimous partnership, by expressing publicly the Association’s eternal appreciation to the University authorities. In a similar vein and because of the same constraint, the Director of TANGO, Mr. Yarboh, deserves an accolade of gratitude for putting their conference room, gratis, at our disposal for this Launch Ceremony. We assure him that this generosity will be reciprocated in the future by the WAG’s request to join the TANGO, as a literary NGO. Contingent on this spatial and low liquidity constraint, it behoves me also to launch here, an appeal to any local or international benefactor, who might be philanthropically inclined to prioritise this prevailing need of the WAG by assisting it to occupy cost-free office or providing informatics’ hard-ware or at best, by ear-marking a bequest in their will to resolve this problem, on a long term and sustainable basis.
In this regard, I am duty bound to thank also the Association’s other partners, such as the National Centre for Arts and Culture and especially, the National Commission for UNESCO office, for committing pipeline funding designated for the WAG to publish short stories as well as translating writings by local authors into the national languages.
It is gratifying to register on this land-mark occasion, the immense pride that the WAG has derived from the laudable contributions, which its members have made and continue to make towards the development of our national literary heritage. It is my duty to showcase for public record, the coordinating, vetting and editorial leadership of Nana Grey-Johnson, the WAG Vice-President and Fodeh Baldeh, during the competition to select suitable lyrics for the APRC Anthem that was championed by our Head of State; coupled with their inputs related to publication of Sir Dawda Jawara’s book, ‘Kairaba’. More recently, literary reviews and analytical critique of Nana Grey-Johnson’s writings, which were the main focus of the commemoration of Gambia Literature Day by the University of the Gambia, were provided by Dr Pierre Gomez, Deputy General Secretary, Almamy Taal, Cherno-Omar Barry, General Secretary and Mrs. Ralphina de Almeida, President, who are all members of the WAG Executive Committee. This corpus of writings was topped-up last week by Cherno-Omar’s illuminating biographical portrait of the literary achievements of our late colleague, Hassoum Ceesay, Sr. This quantum of literary offerings constitute a significant manifestation of the WAG’s efforts to fulfill its altruistic social commitment obligations.
Before I conclude, I would like to reiterate the appreciation of the WAG to you all, for generously sparing the time to demonstrate your felicitations and solidarity with our aims and aspirations by attending this Launching Ceremony. I pray that your interest in ensuring the progress and effective evolution of the WAG will be sustained in an enduring partnership, in the future. We hope that it would be to such a degree, that when we call on you again to assist in the promotion of the welfare and work of the Association, you would not hesitate to respond with positive alacrity. I wish you an enjoyable time with us on this red-letter day in the embryonic annals on the WAG.
It would be remiss of me if I were to end this statement without conferring a meritorious badge of gratitude on my colleagues in the Executive Committee of the WAG, for their unstinting collaboration, providing my administrative vision with enabling wise counseling and proactive support. I thank them all, particularly our hyper-active General Secretary, without whose galvanizing initiative the WAG might not have emerged, at all. On behalf of the entire WAG Executive Committee, I will end by expressing our collective pleasure in having been accorded the singular privilege of steering the course of the start-up affairs of the WAG, into its present status of effective take-off.
Finally, as we have, during the past fortnight, with neurological regret, witnessed the first anniversaries of the passing away of our emeritus poet laureate Dr. Lenrie Peters and the Educationist-cum-poet, Rev. Francis Eku Forbes, coupled with the recent demise of our multi-faceted author, Hassoum Ceesay Sr. please let us stand to observe a minute’s silence in honour of their memory. May they all receive God’s enfolding mercy. Requiescats in pace!
I thank you for your esteemed attention.
Signed: Ralphina de Almeida, Inaugural President.


Source: Foroyaa Newspaper