As part of activities marking its 2nd anniversary, the Young Journalists Association of The Gambia (YJAG) is pleased to inform its members and all young journalists in the country that the 1st biennial congress of the association is slated to take place on Wednesday, 16th September 2009.

The information is also extended to all board members of the association. This was contained in a dispatch sent to the Daily Observer, signed by Demba Kandeh, the association's secretary general.

In the YJAG constitution, it is mandatory for the executive to organise a general congress in every two years.  The 1st term of the current executive will end in September this year. The agenda for the congress will include: election of new executive, review and adoption of the YJAG constitution as well as the drafting of a new plan of action for the year 2009/2011. Meanwhile, all members who would like to participate in the congress are advised to settle all their arears with the treasurer on or before September 6th.

As dictated by the constitution, members who owe single dalasi to the association will not be qualified to vote or be voted for during elections. The association's election is meant to further strengthen its democratic credentials and to further deepen the credibility of the outgoing executive. It could be recalled that YJAG was formed in September 2007 with the sole aim of building the capacity of young and aspiring journalists, to promote the general welfare of its members and help recruit young graduates into the journalism field, among others.

The outgoing executive includes: Nfamara Jawneh - president, Musa Ndow - 1st vice president, Isatou Baldeh, 2nd vice president, Demba Kandeh - secretary general, Babucarr Sanneh - treasurer, Abdourahman Sallah - auditor, Njameh Bah - co-opted member, Madiba Singhateh - co-opted member. "We would be very grateful if you could kindly publish the above press release in your widely read newspapers for the benefit of the general public," the release concluded.