Language in The Gambia – VIRTUAL READING GROUP AND CONVERSATION SERIES Full description HERE / Summaries of previous meetings HERE

We are launching our Conversation Series! Language in The Gambia will have its first talk instead of a reading on Tuesday 4th October 5-6.30pm (Gambian time) / 6-7.30pm UK Time. Please watch the pre-recorded talk before you attend (see video below) and attend the online meeting on Tuesday the 4th if you would like to meet the speaker.

Sidia Sana Jatta will open this conversation series with a talk entitled ‘Status and teaching of the national languages during and after colonial rule in The Gambia’. In his talk, Sidia Sana Jatta will use his personal experience of being taught in Mandinka as a primary school child to explore language in education policy issues and solutions in contemporary Gambia.

Sidia Sana Jatta is a trained Africanist linguist who contributed to early research into West African languages while he was a research fellow at the International African Institute in London (SOAS) between 1980 and 1982. He is the founder of the People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism in The Gambia. He has been a vocal proponent of Gambian language use (instead of English) to facilitate communication, information exchange and learning. His knowledge and first-hand experience of Gambian education is vast. He has notably worked as a teacher and as a senior curriculum development officer for the Curriculum Development Centre from (70s-80s). He was also a member of the Gambian National Assembly’s Education Committee for over 10 years.

WATCH THE TALK – Sidia Sana Jatta – Status and teaching of the national languages during and after colonial rule in The Gambia’

Meeting link and WhatsApp attendees

We will continue to use GOOGLE MEET. This is the link to join the call: https://meet.google.com/ypn-trin-yrj. If you’re already using Gmail, Google Photos, YouTube, or another Google product, just sign in to your existing Google Account. If you don’t have a Google Account, you will need to sign up (free). If you’re using your laptop, any browser will work. If you’re using your phone or tablet, you will need to download the Google Meet mobile app from Google Play or Apple Store.

You can also participate through our WhatsApp group by sending your phone number to clyde.ancarno@kcl.ac.uk. We encourage all members to join our WhatsApp group so they can follow the contributions of our reading group members who will be able to join us via WhatsApp only. If you have technical issues, please join through WhatsApp. We’ll monitor the WhatsApp group each meeting.

When

Tuesday 4 October @ 5.00-6.30pm Gambian time/6.007.30 UK time.

Who

ALL welcome! This is not intended for an academic audience only.

Dates of future meetings

We are meeting the first Tuesday of every month until December 2022. If you’d like to be added to our mailing list or our WhatsApp group, please contact us.