A two-day national symposium on Intellectual Property education, training and research, organised by the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the University of the Gambia (UTG), recently held at MDI in Kanifing.

The initiative has among its objectives, tostart the formal introduction of Intellectual Property (IP) course at the UTG and other higher learning institutions in the country as indicated in the series of activities between the WIPO and the government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Justice, the UTG and other stakeholders in the promotion and protection of IP related matters in the country, especially copyrights among others.

Erudite scholars and experts in the world of IP are booked to deliverpapers on topical issues covering wider areas relating to promotion and protection of IP related matters such as introduction of IP course at the UTG, importance of IP towards sustainable development of any given country, especially developing countries like the Gambia, international, regional and national perspectives, the role of patents, utility models, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, copyrights in promoting innovation and creativity, among other topics.

The training officer at WIPO, Martha Chikowore, who spoke to the Daily Observer, described the training as historic, timely, and important for the Gambia-WIPO relationship towards having an effective and efficient IP programme at the UTG and other higher learning institutions in the country. Chikowore said WIPO will make a difference in the promotion and protection of IP related matters in the country through education and teaching.

The WIPO training officer assured the gathering of her organisation's support and readiness to work with the government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Justice, the UTG towards having adequate IP education and knowledge in the country and beyond. She thanked The Gambia for hosting the training and exhibiting the commitment for making the programme a success.

The director of Industrial Property for Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), Christopher Kiige, gave a detailed account of WIPO relationship with the government of The Gambia over the years. He spoke about the importance of IP in the development of the country, cognizant of current trends of affairs across the globe. The AFRIPO representative also assured of his office support for IP education and knowledge in the country, with reference to functions of his office based in Harare, Zimbawe under the operations of WIPO headquarters in Geneva.

The dean of School of Education at the UTG, Dr. Musa Sowe, who represented the vice chancellor, Professor Mohamed Kah, also made reference to the importance of the training and its impact on the academic lives of UTG students, whom he described as future leaders of the country.

The dean of Faculty of Law at the UTG, Dr. Abubacarr Senghore,seized the opportunity to give a detailed narration about the start of the programme through consultations and correspondences exchanged between the UTG and the Ministry of Justice over the last few months. He cited the last May 2012 WIPO training where the UTG was invited as a venue for the start of the consultation over the need to have IP related education and knowledge exposure for the UTG students, especially law students and others interested in the subject matter as one of the steps. Dr Senghore thanked WIPO for accepting to support the IP course at the UTG and other activities in the country.