Held under the theme: "Our stories, our heritage, our future," the event at the OIC Conference Centre brought together authors, poets, educationists and literary enthusiasts to honour Jabang, Vice President of WAG and popularly known as "Aunty Juka."
Activities focused on her contributions to literature, examining the philosophy, themes and styles in her poetry.
WAG President Dr. Cherno Barry said the Association had deliberately broken with the habit of honouring writers only after death.
"Too often in Africa, we wait until our writers have passed on before we speak their names with the respect they deserve. We have decided to break that habit. We want to honour our writers while they are with us," Dr. Barry said.
He outlined three objectives: celebrating a writer, unveiling a book, and reflecting on literature's place in schools.
"A nation that does not read its own writers will, in time, forget its own story," he said.
Dr. Barry described Jabang as "a poet of courage," noting that in The Phoenix and her other works she writes about Gambian women with frankness that provokes admiration and debate.
"That is exactly what literature is for," he said. He added that WAG is raising publishing standards, pushing Gambian titles into schools, and planning a national writers' archive.
In her response, Jabang thanked Allah and WAG, saying two words summarize her guiding principles: sacrifice and selflessness.
"There is something profoundly gratifying about honouring a person while she is still alive. It reminds me that my contributions have not been lost," she said.
She traced her love for literature to St. Joseph's School and Fourah Bay College in the 1970s, recalling early contributions to student magazines and Ndaanan.
Her daughter, Kodou L. Jabang, described her as a role model who showed that motherhood is not a limitation to pursuing dreams and voice.
The celebration ended with poetry readings and renewed calls to nurture young writers.
