By Musa Saho
The Office of Registrar General under the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Justice has Monday, 26th April 2022 join the rest of the world to celebrate this year World Intellectual Property Day at the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) complex in Kanifing.
The World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated annually around the world in April of every year since 2000. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) spearheaded the day celebration, with this year’s theme “IP and Youth: Innovating for a better future”.
According to Abdoulie Colley, Registrar General at the Ministry of Justice, responsible for The Gambia Industrial Property, said, IP day is celebrated annually and the objective is to create IP awareness and sensitize the public on the importance of intellectual property rights for economic advancement.
He added that, the event also was an opportunity for the IP Office in collaboration with the National Intellectual Property Council, to organize activities geared towards the implementation of The Gambia Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy 2018- 2023.
Mr. Colley said, his office collaborated with the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI), to deliver a public lecture for the benefit of students of GTTI, who are generally youths and plan to venture in technical career.
“There are around 1.8 billion young people (under 24) in the world today. Ninety percent of them live in developing countries. The proportion of young people (under 35) is set to increase in the coming years,” Mr. Colley highlighted.
He further stated that the youth of today are an incredible and largely untapped source of ingenuity and creativity that can help drive the changes need to move to a more sustainable footing.
The Registrar General added that, the fresh perspectives of the youths, their energy, curiosity and “can do” attitude, and their hunger for a better future, are already reshaping approaches and driving action for innovation and change.
Mr. Colley informed that World Intellectual Property Day 2022 is an opportunity for young people to find out how IP rights can support their goals, help transform their ideas into reality, generate income, create jobs and make a positive impact on the world around them.
“Young people are the future. With IP rights, young people have access to some of the key tools they need to advance their goals and ambitions. With IP, individuals and businesses create value and can do better, communities can thrive, and national economies can prosper,” Mr. Colley asserted.
According to him, WIPO is working with its member states and partners to create a legal and policy friendly environment for young inventors, creators and entrepreneurs to thrive.
