By Saikou Suwareh Jabai
Omar Jammeh has been named winner of the ‘Stone Circle’s Youth Excellence Award (YEA) for the year 2019.
The award is given in commemoration of the International Youth Day, the United Nation’s annual celebration of the role of young people in creating positive change across the world. The ‘Stone Circle’ is the Gambia’s premiere youth-led and youth-focused news website that puts the spotlight on young people and their invaluable contributions to self and national development.
The YEA is the ‘Stone Circle’s flagship initiative that annually acknowledges and celebrates the outstanding achievements of young people who are making significant contributions to national development.
Omar Jammeh, the winner of this year’s award, is the Regional Youth Chairperson of the National Youth Council (NYC) in the Central River Region (CRR).
Reacting to his Award, Omar Jammeh said he was thrilled to be given the 2019 prestigious youth award.
‘‘I am delighted to be awarded the Youth Excellence Award. It will serve as a motivation for me and an inspiration for other young people,’’ Jammeh said.
The Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of The ‘Stone Circle’ Saikou Suwareh Jabai, said Omar Jammeh is a deserved winner of the award. He described Omar as a champion whose efforts to empower rural youth is an open secret. Jabai said Omar Jammeh not only has a bright future ahead of him, but has already established himself as a leader and role model for rural youth; that youth have a proven capability to lead change and are a vital and valuable investment for now and the future. ‘‘Young people are often heralded as the leaders of tomorrow yet in reality, they are already leading an important change today. The Youth Excellence Award is here to epitomize that,’’ Jabai said.
Ebrima Darboe, Managing Director of The ‘Stone Circle’ said YEA serves to celebrate change-makers and inspire other young people to take action in their communities. As well as his outstanding strides in promoting sustainable community-based tourism, Darboe said the award is a recognition of Omar’s efforts to champion the empowerment of young people in CRR and beyond.
The 2018 winner of the YEA is Momodou Edrissa Njie, Executive Director of the Global Youth Innovative Network, Gambia Chapter.
About the Award Winner
Born in Janjanbureh, Omar Jammeh serves as Regional Youth Chairperson of the CRR and Board Member of the NYC from 2015 to date. He is currently the Director of the organization called Janjanbureh Uniting Sustainable Tourism and Community Training (JustactGambia) since 2014. Omar is a Business Development Adviser at Empretec Gambia and a trained Civic Educationist at the International Research Institute (IRI). Jammeh bags a Certificate in Entrepreneurship in Benin in the year 2015 and serves as the Center Manager at the Janjanbureh Training Center from 2010 to 2012.
Jammeh is also a Trained and License Community Tour Guide by the Gambia Tourism Board in 2013, retrained by the Institute of Travel and Toursim of The Gambia as a Tour Guide through the support of the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP), and a licensed tourism tutor. Omar served as the Chairperson of the Janjanbureh Youth Future Concern Association (JYFCA) from 2012 to 2014.
He is currently the President of the ‘JanJanbureh Kankurang’ Festival Committee and currently serves as trainer and consultant on Community Based Tourism under YEP Gambia.
