The cosmopolitan town of Brikama has been chosen to hostthe 2012 Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) annual Marche Jula. This is the second year of the Marche Jula initiative. It was formally launched last year at the Buffer Zone in Tallinding.

The theme for this year’s business event is “Youth enterprises and youth employability”. “At the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), we decided to listen, interact and think together with young men and women to solicit their ideas and organise the 2nd edition of this mini-trade fair titled Marche Jula,” said Almami Taal, the chief executive officer of the GCCI, during a 30-minute information-sharing meeting with the governor of the West Coast Region at his office in Brikama on Tuesday.

Taal opined that young people represent the promise of changing the society for the better. He explained that the Marche Jula initative targets to promote employment and enable young people to showcase their entrepreneurial ability to the general public. He also noted that the year 2012 has been declared the Year of Science, Technology and Innovation by President Jammeh, which amongst other things is expected to showcase talents and skills of young people in these sectors.

The governor of the region, Alhaji Lamin Sanneh said the concept of Marche Jula is not a new phenomenon in the country. The executive secretary of the National Youth Council (NYC) and the coordinator of the National Enterprise Development Initiative (NEDI), Marcel Mendy and Landing B Sanneh respectively applauded the initiative

The NYC boss expressed hope that every young person will endeavour to make use of the opportunity, while also imploring on the GCCI to continue collaborating with stakeholders so that the initiative can achieve its targets. Landing B Sanneh said the primary task of the NEDI is to promote enterprise development through young people and women, adding that the Marche Jula initiative will help complement the efforts of NEDI.