The Gambia has witnessed significant strides in the field of cultural development since the AFPRC/APRC government came to power in 1994. The achievements of President Jammeh’s government in the preservation, promotion and development of The Gambia’s cultural heritage reflect the change in thinking in the way culture is perceived in government in the context of The Gambia’s socio-economic development agenda.

The Jammeh administration has undoubtedly made conscious efforts to mainstream cultural development, and to view culture as an integral part of the country’s development agenda. This new perception of culture within the corridors of power in government cannot be a surprise when the Head of State is himself a fervent believer in the cultures and traditions of our people, their norms and values, which in totality account for our identity as a nation and as a people.

There have been numerous achievements in the area of culture since 1994, and the indications are that culture will assume an even more prominent role in the country’s development in the years ahead. It should be remembered that in the course of the last decade, the world has witnessed an upsurge in the interest shown towards culture, especially amongst development pundits and thinkers, and many subscribe to the view that culture is a vital component of development. Shalini Venturelli, a noted scholar and commentator on cultural issues once noted "wealth creation is dependent upon the capacity of a nation to continually create content. In short, a nation without a vibrant creative labour force of artists, writers, designers, script writers, playwrights, painters, musicians, film producers, directors, actors, dancers, choreographers, not to mention engineers, scientists, researchers and intellectuals does not possess the knowledge base to succeed in the information economy, and must depend on ideas produced elsewhere". A former Minister of Culture in the United Kingdom, Chris Smith also argued that "the role of creative enterprise and the cultural contribution to a modern world is a key economic issue". He went further to state that "the creative areas are where many of the jobs and much of the wealth of the next century are going to come from".

This new trend of viewing culture in the context of development came to a climax in the year 2000 when the World Bank, in collaboration with the government of Italy organized a world conference to discuss the impact of culture in development, and the need for countries to recognize the significant part that culture plays in National development.

In retrospect, it is therefore gratifying to see a major shift in thinking which points to culture being viewed as a potent tool for socio-economic development in the Gambia. While this discourse may not be exhaustive of the tremendous strides that the government has made in the area of culture for editorial reasons, one can highlight some of the major achievements that attest to this fact.

In 1996, the Jammeh government institutionalized the International Roots Homecoming Festival, capitalizing on the attraction and international spotlight that Alex Haley’s book "Roots" and the television mini series that subsequently followed the publication beamed on the village of Juffure in particular and The Gambia in general. Thus that same year, a small slavery museum in Albreda/Juffure was inaugurated during the first edition of the festival. In the year 2000, the Stone Circle site of Wassu in the Central River Division also saw the inauguration of a new interpretative museum on the centuries old megalithic site, thereby adding value to visits to the site whilst generating greater interest on the site.

In 1999, the government secured a grant from the World Bank to build the capacity of the national Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) with a view to rendering the institution more proactive to the needs of the cultural sector. The NCAC capacity building project culminated in the formulation of a five-year strategic plan for the development of NCAC in particular and the cultural sector in general. This was preceded by nationwide consultations on the way forward for culture resulting in the production of a new national cultural policy framework. A new NCAC Act, passed in the National Assembly in December 2003, now provides the legal basis for the restructuring of the NCAC to meet the demands of this dynamic sector, and it is envisaged that in the coming months, the institution will assume a corporate image and structure that will enable it perform its various functions more effectively. In March 2004, the Secretary of State for culture placed before the National Assembly a new copyright bill for ratification, which was unanimously passed by the Assembly. The new bill supersedes the colonial and outdated copyright Act of 1915, thereby bringing The Gambia’s copyright laws to modern international standard, thus placing artists and other stakeholders in intellectual property on the pedestal of reaping benefits from their creative talents while protecting their rights as owners of intellectual property. With plans in the pipeline to establish a new copyright bureau and a Collecting Society, the woeful cries of Gambian artists and other stakeholders in copyright is nearly coming to an end as they all look forward to reaping of copyright.

In the area of museum development, The Gambia has witnessed the establishment of new museums, notably in Juffure, and Wassu as well as Arch 22 in Banjul. As at the end of March 2004, yet another museum has been completed at the Kerr Batch Stone Circle site, bringing the number of public museums to five since the APRC government came to power in 1994.

The fact that His Excellency the President of the Republic has institutionalized The Gambian-African Cultural Festival in Kanilai on a biennial basis, in alternation with the Roots Festival is a cogent testimony to the importance that the Head of State attaches to culture. In fact even well before the institutionalization of this festival, he had transformed the village of Kanilai in to a "citadel of culture" where cultural festivities are held on a regular basis, and has continue to remain so.

But perhaps the most important cultural development project that president Jammeh’s government has brought the Gambian people is the planned establishment of a National Multi-purpose Cultural Complex to be located in the Kanifing area. The land area for this significant cultural facility has since been secured, the design completed and substantial funds mobilized towards the realization of the project. This project, when successfully realized, will be a historic achievement in the annals of cultural complex where the rich and diverse intangible cultural heritage of the country can be professionally disseminated. Since independence, performers, playwrights, cultural enthusiasts and the Gambian public in general have lamented the lack of a National multi-purpose cultural complex, but thanks to the Jammeh government that this dream is poised to become a reality. This National Theatre Complex will also, in the medium term, incorporate a recording studio and a pressing plant, a project that will, when realized, place The Gambia on he foothold of developing the music industry of the country.

It can be seen from the above examples that the APRC government views culture as a vital and integral part of the development process. In the developed world, research has shown that the impact of arts and culture in the national economies of such countries far surpasses other sectors. For example, studies carried out in the United Kingdom have shown that "the creative industries generate 60 billion pounds sterling in revenues, and an estimated 7.5 billion pounds exports per year account for over 1.4 million jobs with a growth rate of 5% faster than any other sector in the economy".

John Howkins, in his book "The Creative Economy" states that "the annual growth rate of the creative economy in IECD countries as twice that of the service industries and four times that of manufacturing overall". Another writer, Ken Robinson also asserted that "in the United States, the intellectual property sectors are estimated to be worth $60 billion a year, making them more valuable than automobiles, agriculture or aerospace"!

Professor Yunus, founder and head of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh also noted that "if society creates an environment that allows the individual to develop his creative abilities, the reduction of poverty is feasible"

For the Gambian nation therefore, the challenge of the future is its ability to harness the creative talents of our people to the fullest, so that creativity in arts and other cultural manifestations will provide the impetus for the sector to contribute even more significantly to the national economy, while reducing the poverty margin. Is this a far fetch vision? I would like to think no, if the strides that have been made by the government of President Jammeh in the field of cultural development in the course of the last ten years are any indications to go by. I believe that the government has indeed laid some solid foundations for the arts and culture to thrive, and what remains to be seen is a sustained and organized system of cultural industry development that would place the cultural industries sector on a pivotal level in the macro-economic development framework. If this happens, then The Gambia is well on its way to becoming a nation that is not solely dependent on a few primary products for wealth creation, but would also have shown the seeds for a cultural industry revolution whose contribution to job creation and poverty reduction in our march towards socio-economic advancement will be profound.