The Africa Alliance YMCA's gender workshop involving participants from 25 countries across Africa is currently underway at the Manse Beach Hotel in Kololi.

The three-day workshop is intended to contribute to the furtherance of global goal of equality, through the implemention of YMCA gender platform, as well as the adoption of its gender policy framwork.

During the course of the workshop, participants will discuss issues, such as gender equality through human resources, planning and recruitment, advertisement, selection remuneration and grading, promtion, family friendly practices, sexual hanassment, general equality, amongn others.

Declaring the workshop open, Mass  Axi Gye, Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, on behalf of the Vice- President, Dr Aja Isatou Njie Saidy,  commended the organisation  for choosing The Gambia to host the workshop  which coincided with  the celebration of the 30th annivasary of AAYMCA.

SoS Gai informed the participarts that The Gambia government puts gender issues high on government agenda.
He reaffirmed government's commitment to promote and empower women in all its development domain.

He then  urged participants to take the workshop seriously in order to dessiminate the knowledge gained from the programme to the respective countries.
 Oreme Joiner,  Board Chairman of YMCA The Gambia,  said if the continental association is to be socially relevant, it must address issues of gender to bridge the gap as gender is not only a social right issue but also of  human and developmental issues.

"It is gratitfying  to know that many organisations are now recognizing that both men and women are development actors and therefore a  factor to be considered on any development process.  With the absence of the understanding, you will find gender mequality in all spheres of our every day life, especially at work places, homes and even in voluntary organisations such as ours " he said

Jomer challenged  participants to work hard to eradicate such notions on our midst by analysing gender inequalities that exists on our organisation and come up with a document that would transform and reinforce the equality of the sexes.

Speaking ealier, Clifford M Seleya, Chairman Africa Alliance of YMCAs, said the Africa YMCA has always been mindful of the feet that marginalizes a section of its population to single dismension or reduces it to an object .

Seleya highlighted some of the specitie objectness of the YMCA which includes to create gender awareness among YMCA stakeholders through a process of training and sensitisation  at regional, zonal and national levels, to sensitise local and national movements and well as regions on gender development, to interelate the gender perspectice with the youth dimension, amongst others.

He urged participarts to critically  review their gender policy in a bid to bring out an implementable road map that can be monitored and evaluated regualrly.