The training, which gathered participants from all sporting associations, is aimed to help build the capacity of national associations in the country.
Breatrice Allen, president of the (GNOC), said the course is a component of the ongoing six-year strategic plan development process of the GNOC for the period 2023-2029.
“As an institution, we consider it essential to develop a strategic plan that will guide us in the coming years. This process started in November 2022 and would establish and provide a shared organisational vision, clear mission statement and key roles, shared organisational values and shared organisational strategic priorities among other things,” she said.
Madam Allen added that they conceived the need to train strategic planning facilitators in order to create a pool of competent resource persons, who, once certified, can be deployed by GNOC to facilitate the developmental and implementation of the strategic plan by member national sports federations and other sporting entities in The Gambia.
Robert Mutsauki, the course consultant from Zimbabwe, described the initiative by the GNOC as a serious investment.
According to him, the GNOC’s six-year strategic plan will not be sufficient if members of the National Olympic Committee do not have their own strategic plan. She added that the GNOC is not only organising the training for the sake of organising but are looking at the impact it would have on national associations.
Mahmoud Lamin Jawla, the deputy executive director at the National Sports Council, said the initiative is structured to elevate the standard of members of the GNOC.
“As an institution, it is vital to have knowledge on how to develop a strategic plan, particularly when it comes to training people in order to be able to facilitate issues relating to strategic plans of associations,” he said.
He told participants that the initiative will help them track progress towards their goals.
