On
Saturday 23 November 2019, The Voice News Magazine held its symposium and award
ceremony at the Royal & Events Centre, Almere, The Netherlands on the theme
“Role of the Diaspora in the Revitalization of Africa”. The magazine is the
first Pan-African news magazine published in the Netherlands in the English
language, covering Central Europe, America and Africa spread across the world.
The first edition was published on 12th of August 1999.
Speaking
at the event Dr.Hon Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay a renowned politician and a trained
journalist by profession, and a seasoned international leader with track record
of decades of public service both on a national and international levels,
including former Speaker of the National Assembly of The Gambia, President of
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) former Deputy Speaker ECOWAS
Parliament, and Founder, Family Rights Advancement and Protection (FRAI).
“The
revitalization of Africa has been discussed for a long time, a perennial
process of revitalizing human capacity and it is time to take stock of what
programs we have achieved, what challenges exist and what contributions are
required to move forward as per the African Union Agenda 2063” Said, Hon.
Jahumpa.
“Diaspora has a sense of belonging to the
country they came from, and if they want to contribute they should feel free to
do so, they should not have to answer to conditions. We all have a
responsibility and we must all play our part. After all, they are contributing
immensely through remittances. And looking at remittances as a share of GDP,
Comoros, Lesotho, Gambia, Cabo Verde, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Togo, Ghana
and Nigeria are listed in the Remittance Markets in Africa ” she added.
In
her concluding remarks, she thanked the Stichting Paddi Europa with The Voice
News Magazine for awarding her this prestigious award The Voice Heroine of the
Year 2019 amongst other African personalities.
