By Kemo Kanyi
The Gambia National Commission for UNESCO and partners recently held a meeting on peace and social cohesion in the country.
The meeting held at the Ocean Bay Hotel at Bakau Cape Point marked a significant moment in a collective journey towards building a society anchored in peace, dialogue, and mutual respect.
It brought together government officials, civil society actors, community leaders, youth and international partners to reflect on the progress and chart a way forward.
UNESCO-Gambia and partners reflected on strengthening the national infrastructure for peace to promote social cohesion in the country, shed light on what the project was against, challenges, and outlined recommendations.
Supported by the UN Secretary General’s Peacebuilding Fund, the I4 Peace project is jointly implemented by UNESCO, ITC, and UNDP.
Madam Maimuna Sidibeh, the Secretary General UNESCO-Gambia Commission says the objective of the meeting is to have key insights, challenges and recommendations captured during the deliberations, to have a strengthened understanding of thematic interlinkages and cross-sector collaborations, produce a strategic recommendation for UNESCO and stakeholders to guide future interventions.
Michelle Kemu, who represented the Regional Director for UNESCO West Africa, urged participants to support the national peace architecture of the nation, ensure that we strengthen social cohesion, and work towards mitigating hate speech, misinformation and disinformation.
Lamin Gassama, the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Interior, highlighted that the project complements The Gambia government’s broader agenda for transitional justice, decentralisation and governance reforms, stating that the Interior Ministry is proud to be associated with this great initiative as a key government partner and providing leadership in ensuring that the project interventions align with national priorities for peace, security and community resilience.
“The Fund’s interventions have strengthened our national capacity to prevent conflict, mitigate emerging risks, and reinforce the foundation of peace,” he said.
Gassama further warned that deliberate misinformation represents “a betrayal of civilisation and public trust,” describing it as a calculated threat to objective reasoning and social stability.
Meanwhile, as the Gambia carries out transitional justice programme and also prepares for presidential election later in the year, many participants expressed the importance and timeliness of the meeting geared towards dialogue and maintenance of peace.
