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The Gorée Institute is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based on the island of Gorée, a short boat ride from Dakar in Senegal, West Africa. The Institute, under the leadership of recently appointed Executive Director, Aïssatou Sarr, seeks to promote the concept of self reliant and open societies in Africa and concentrates its efforts at research and interventions that promote democracy, development and indigenous culture. Much of the current research programme is concentrated in the fields of civil society, management of the public good and the development of women in Africa. The idea for the Institute, first articulated by ex-President Abdou Diouf of Senegal originated during the Dakar Meeting for Democracy in South Africa that took place in 1987 between the then-exiled leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) and a host of leaders from the business and political establishment of white-ruled South Africa as it was then. This meeting, funded by the Danielle Mitterand Foundation and the financier George Soros, was attended and supported by Africans from other parts of the continent and contributed significantly to the eventual installation of democracy in South Africa in 1994. In June, 1992, the Gorée Institute came into being in the presence of Abdou Diouf and the then Secretary of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Salim Ahmed Salim. It was started by a group of concerned Africans who shared the ideals of progress, justice and liberty and a strong belief in African co-operation and self-reliance. |
For a summary of the the Gorée Institute's own interpretation of its motivation, vision, mission and values, click here. Much of the contemporary everyday business of the Institute involves training and consultancy work with other NGOs as well as within the public and private sectors. Ms Sow and her team at Gorée are keen to promote capacity building, learning and organisational effectiveness with an Africanised approach, in other words, one that takes into account and respects the social and cultural norms of the target audience and not those of societies external to Africa. The Gorée Institute boasts a fine Resource Centre housing a library and computer cluster, air-conditioned conference suites with simultaneous translation facilities available and quality accommodation available on the island, which benefits from employment and involvement in local community life by the Institute. In looking to the future, the Institute is concerned about keeping Africa in touch with developments in the ongoing revolution in information technology and communications (ITC), including the setting up of shared learning sites, and the creation of exchanges and co-operation with academic institutions world-wide. E-mail: goree@enda.sn |
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