By Sanna Jawara, Copyright Officer
The Copyright Office under the National Centre for Arts and Culture, on Thursday 18th July 2019, engages International Organisation for Migration on the importance of effective utilisation of Intellectual Property towards achieving sustainable development of any given country, especially third world countries like The Gambia.
The engagement was part of the on-going dialogue and awareness campaign embarked on by the Copyright Office within the context of having an effective and efficient copyright regime in the country, through enforcement of the 2004 Copyright Act and the 2018 Copyright Regulation.
The meeting described by many as timely, considering the low level awareness of many Gambians about existence of Intellectual Property law covering such matters as Copyright and Related Rights law, Industrial Property law and the need to tap them for the benefit and welfare of all, through the spirit of self -determination as per Article 1 of International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights.
The meeting further affirm shared objectives of the two institutions on matters of promotion and protection of our creative and cultural industries, which has the potentials of creating thousands of job opportunities for Gambians, through invocation of creative and innovative minds with specific reference to youth, who fell victims of illegal migration often occasioned by factors such as unemployment, lack of necessary environment for innovation and creativity.
The meeting attended by Mr Jereh Manneh, Project Assistant at International Organisation for Migration, Sanna Jawara, Copyright Officer and Sanna B. Jarju, Research Officer of National Centre for Arts and Culture department for Research and Documentation, resolved to have more collaborative partnership for the interest and welfare of the country and humanity at large.