Hassoum
Ceesay, Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC)
has assured his institution and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s resolve
to continue supporting the promotion of reading and writing culture in The
Gambia to address the poor reading and writing culture.
Mr
Ceesay, a member of the Writers Association of The Gambia (WAG), and immediate
former VP of WAG made this remarks on Saturday, during an international press
briefing convened by WAG in collaboration with NCAC, to update the media on
their activities.
Mr
Ceesay assured WAG of his institution’s satisfaction in WAG’s work towards
promoting Gambian literature, Gambian renewed culture and literacy.
He
said the NCAC and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture are very happy with the
work of WAG. Adding that, all that WAG is doing falls within the parameters of
the National Development Plans, particularly in the area of quality education,
through literacy, and vibrant reading culture
“WAG
is 10 years now and it is one of the 7 artistic associations in this country.
For the last 10 years the WAG did not only produce books, but also engage on
other intellectual and Scholarly activities, like symposia, debates, etc. And
when we produce books we have book launches. The Association itself has also
produce 5 publication in the past 10 years,” he said.
Mr
Ceesay said the purpose of the press briefing is that their members have been
very busy in the international scenes in the last 4 to 5 months. “We are
preparing for a major outing, to Dakar, Senegal and hope that some journalists
will be invited to join the team. The association members have also been
invited to number the international writers’ conferences this month and next
month,” he said
Musa
Ceesay - WAG Vice President said WAG has been engaging on number of activities
since inception in 2009. “Gambian
writers have been writing for a century or more. And this association is
reviving the literary trends in the country,” he said.
He
said WAG held Congress in April 2019, and acknowledged the successes registered
by the former board- he described as vibrant team.
“Since
we took over, we embarked on a series of activities. The Writers Association of
Senegal is hosting Writers Conference in Dakar from 6 to 9 November 2019, and
The Gambia is invited as a special guest,” he said.
He
acknowledged that The Gambia and Senegal shares common culture, and that some
Gambian Writers will be awarded in Senegal.
Mr
Ceesay said in January 2019 the President of the Association of Authors in
Nigeria paid a visit to The Gambia to discuss numbers of issues on how to
improve the literary scene, resulting in the invitation of the Assistant
Treasurer – Ms Bintou Sanneh who went on a month long Residency in Nigeria in
September 2019, and she came back with very good prospects. Ms Sanneh is
expected to publish two books, she wrote during her residency in Nigeria.
“Ramatoulie
Uthman, WAG Treasurer has also been invited to take part in a month long
residency in Freetown Sierra Leone in December, which creates a link between
WAG and Sierra Leon,” Mr Ceesay said.
He
said the Pan African Writers Association is organising Writers Conference in
Malabo- Equatorial Guinea in which 2 or 3 WAG Members will take part.
Modou
Lamin Sowe – WAG Secretary General for
his part reiterated that he will take part in month long residency in Nigeria
in the African Writers Development Trust, which is the first ever Writers
Residency in Abuja Nigeria, where he is expected to produce new work.
He
said WAG since its establishment has
engage ministries, NGOs, diplomats, among others to promote the culture of
reading and writing, noting that without reading and writing culture, no nation
can develop.
Mr
Sowe noted that the poor readership in the country needs to be addressed that
is why they as the writers association thought that education and awareness
raising are fundamental things that they
should play to ameliorate the sector.
In
doing so they motivated young people participation in the book industry, by
organising award programs for young writers.
He
also said they plan to organise Banjul residency, where artists from other
countries will be invited.
“We
are happy that the new Gambia is raising clarion call in writing and we thought
we can complement government in key ways. And our first activity will be the
Kunta Kinteh International Book Festival, which will be held alongside the
International Roots Festival.
He
said the World book and copyright day was also celebrated worldwide. And as an
association they awarded 22 Gambians, both male and female, as a source of
motivation.
He
said in April 2019 they held the Dr Lenry Peters Memorial Award in which 22
Gambian Writers were awarded.
“We
also paid tribute to the former President –Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara in form of
book exhibition held at the American Corner.
“We
also donated 147 Books to schools and school children to motivate young people
in reading,” he said.
Mr
Sowe further said they want to develop a national book policy of The Gambia, to
celebrate Gambian writers when they are alive, rather than honouring them when
they are gone. Adding: “We want over 80
percent of the books used in schools to be written by Gambians, with more
Gambian Teachers to teach our children,” he said.
