By Bakary Touray Jr
The Team Europe has announced the signature of a new contract with the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
The initiative of the support is to foster investment in Culture, Creative Arts and Sports in the Gambia. The 500,000 euro project also aimed to promote investment in culture, creative arts and sports, with the objective of enhancing resilience against climate change in local communities
During this COVID-19 crisis, beyond the sanitary questions, ensuring continuous support to the private sector is essential for the economy and the society, especially in a country such as The Gambia with many individuals who depend on sectors that are highly impacted. This unprecedented pandemic is causing dramatic damages on economies worldwide. The Gambia is not spared with most of its enterprises operating in the informal sector and workers relying on daily revenues.
In that respect, this new project on “Promoting Investments in Culture, Creative Arts and Sports to Enhance Resilience against Climate Change in Local Communities” aims to provide support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in one of the most affected sector, i.e. the tourism industry. It is budgeted with circa 500,000 EUR, i. e. more than 28 million GMD.
The EU Ambassador, H.E. Attila Lajos stressed that: “Today, more than ever, the EU stands by The Gambia and its people as we only collectively could win the fight against this pandemic. I have no doubt that once the situation is stabilized, visitors will come back to the smiling coast of Africa because we love The Gambia, and Europeans love The Gambia. Therefore, we should not decrease our efforts in improving and diversifying the products and services the country has on offer.”
This action pursues a threefold objective: the first is to support the production of innovative handicrafts and promote fair labour conditions.
Local artisans will work with EU artisans and be linked to the EU market and local tourist industry; the second will be to promote traditional wrestling as Cultural Heritage with the creation of a network of wrestling training clubs and use wrestling as a tool to create solidarity amongst communities; and the third will be about developing a new regulatory environment to promote arts, culture and sports.
This is a joint effort, a partnership of great value: it will create jobs and enhance social cohesion and provides for the discovery of new Gambian talents. This is why, in these trying times, the EU is particularly delighted to partner with GCCI that is the calling Voice of Gambian Business.
