On
Friday 25 May 2017, the Alliance Française de Banjul held its annual general
assembly meeting in which elections were conducted for the board members.
Dr
Cherno Omar Barry, permanent secretary II Ministry of Higher Education,
Research, Science and Technology, was re-elected as the chairman of the board
of directors for another two years; thus being his final mandate.
It
should be noted that since the Alliance Francaise premises were inaugurated in
1996 by Mr Baboucarr Jagne, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, several
prominent personalities became the chairman of the board of directors.
Notably:
Dr Mamadou Tangara, Permanent representative of The Gambia to the UN in New
York; Hon. Abdou Colley, former Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs; Hon.
Dr Momodou Sidat Jobe, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Current Gambian
Ambassador in Paris, France; Hon. Musa Sillah, Islamic Development Bank
Regional Director and former Minister of Trade; and Lawyer Bola Carol,
International Lawyer.
Established
in 1956 in The Gambia, Alliance Française de Banjul, a Gambian association of
French lovers and francophones, is part of the international network of 800
Alliance Françaises that annually welcome over 450,000 students to their
language classes, and over 6 million people to their cultural events.
Affiliated
to the Alliance Française Foundation in Paris, it is also part of the French
cultural network in the Senegambian region, made up of Alliance Françaises of
Kaolack, Ziguinchor and Banjul and the Institute Français of St Louis and
Dakar.
Alliance
Française de Banjul is a language school and cultural centre that does not only
provide French classes to both adults and children at very competitive prizes
and within an environment well equipped with the latest technology and the most
experienced teachers available in the Gambia, but also host live concerts,
exhibitions and conferences as well as drama shows, workshops, fashion shows
and radio programmes.
The
newly-constituted Board of Directors is expected to steer the affairs of the
institution through a promising two years when the French Government has
singularly identified the Alliance Francaise to train the Gambian military and
civil servants as well as host several other meetings and conferences relevant
to accompanying the New Gambia to a more just and strengthened governance
structure.
In
addition to these activities, the Alliance Francaise will serve as an
intermediary through its Director and Chairman of Board for the French
Government support to education, research and other crucial areas of interest
to The Gambia.
Meanwhile,
following some extra budgetary support received from the French Government
through the French Embassy in Dakar, there is rehabilitation work going on to
transform the library into a digital multimedia centre where Gambian
researchers can access materials at a minimal subscription cost and
Francophiles can enjoy the access to the latest information and documentation
at the tip of their fingers.
The
Board members are Dr Cherno Omar Barry (Chairman), Mr Baboucarr Cham, City
Limits (1st Deputy Chairman), Mr Andrew Sambou, PEO MoBSE (2nd Deputy Chair),
Dr Ndeye Maty Paye, Assistant Professor UTG (Secretary), Ms Fatou Sanneh,
Senior Producer GRTS (Communications Officer), Mr Momodou Jallow Retired
Accountant (Treasurer), Mr Edward Diantrec Badjie, Lecturer UTG (Assistant
Treasurer), Dr Mariam John Counsellor Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Member), Mr
Sheriff Yunus Hydara, Project Manager PCU MoBSE (member), Djibril Diallo
Private Businessman (member), Ms Mariama Cisse Kalala, Private Sector (member),
Mr Andrew Correia, French Teacher (Member), and Mr Claude Poggioli, Director
Alliance Française de Banjul (Ex-officio member).
