From the organizers of the Raleigh Conference for Democracy and Good Governance
Gambia Democratic Action Group (GDAG), Save the Gambia Democracy Project (STGDP) and Democratic Union of Gambian Activists (DUGA), serving as the committee pro-temp, and assigned the task of creating a centralized coordinating body in the struggle to restore democracy in The Gambia, wish to inform conference delegates and the general public that they have made significant progress in creating a Steering Committee that shall be responsible for promoting the Agenda For Change in The Gambia.
Each region will be tasked with choosing representatives from their respective organizations and or individual activists to serve on the Steering Committee with emphasis on inclusion and equal representation. The size and composition as well as the regional distribution of the Steering Committee shall be as follows:
8 Representatives from Africa*
8 Representatives from Europe/United Kingdom*
8 Representatives from the United States*
2 Female representatives* (Strictly for the women agenda – this excludes women representing regions)
1 Youth representative* (Strictly for the youth agenda – this excludes youths representing regions)
*names forthcoming pending acceptance by nominees
The Steering Committee will serve a (1) year term – with a maximum of 2 terms, and shall be responsible for implementing the Action Plans as stipulated in the Raleigh accord such as:
- Identify and work with groups, institutions and international bodies engaged in the struggle to promote democracy in The Gambia;
- Serve as a link between opposition movements in The Gambia, civil society organizations, and the media on the ground;
- Mobilize funding and logistics required to pursue the agenda for change.
GDAG, STDGP, and DUGA are very pleased with this outcome, and applaud all involved for exhibiting a true demonstration of unity that was agreed upon in North Carolina. We will update and present conference delegates and all interested parties with a final and complete list of the Steering Committee members by the 15th day of July 2013. We are confident that Gambians can now present a UNIFIED FRONT in our goal of attaining a true and sustainable democracy in the Gambia.