By Yunus S Saliu
As part of the effort to strengthen the staff’s capacity, the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) in partnership with two visiting professors from the University of La Laguna in Spain over the weekend held 3-day training on ethnography and anthropology for the staff of the centre.
The seminar consists of three parts, which covers 15 hours of the weekly session from 24th to 26th June, fieldwork supervision starting from 30th June to 14th July which is 45 hours, for at least 10 to 15 days in Situ while the submission of the ethnographic reports deadline is 30th September with 30 hours online tutoring.
The ongoing seminar is coordinated by Nicolas Naranjo, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Department, La Laguna University, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, and Anna Palasinska, Sociologist and International Development Consultant, Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain.
Commenting about the capacity building of the staff, Hassoum Ceesay, Director General of NCAC disclosed that it is an in-house training on Ethnography and introduction to the practice of Anthropology.
This initiative, according to him, “arises from the interest of deepening in Anthropology and applying its methodological knowledge in different socio-cultural contexts, subjects and places in The Gambia.” More so, the training is on “how to teach Anthropological practice in an innovative, reflective and intercultural way in a contemporary world. Way of transmitting and incorporating the necessary provisions (theoretical, technical and personal for Ethnographic practice goes beyond traditional pedagogy.”
DG Ceesay added that basically, the training is for them to work with the two professors to strengthen their staffs in capacity building in the two areas “because the work of the NCAC is to premise on Ethnography and Anthropology. This is because, in Ethnography, we record cultures and we also exhibit cultures so that’s the very working cardinal of the NCAC. In Anthropology, we deal with festivals, recording of ceremonies, and similar cultural practices.”
He explained that the seminar was developed through the workshop where it will expose the key concepts of Anthropology, the steps to follow to design and carry out Ethnographies, based on participant observations and interviews with selected subjects and places, and how to do Ethnographic writing.
However, the seminar methodology is a research-based education on an open and experimental teaching-learning process, where the collaboration of the participants is oriented toward Ethnography.
The Director-General noted that the professors will supervise the fieldwork held by the students in selected topics and areas in The Gambia during June and July 2022 and “the collaboration of professionals and institutions participants will allow a better understanding of anthropological practices through and intergroup, inter-linguistic and intercultural exchange. So this Anthropological practice is that the students will learn to obtain first-hand information, to interact with the social reality to be analysed, and learn to observe, record, systematize and research, “This is all in tandem with the national development plan.”
Nicolas Naranjo, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Department, La Laguna University, and Anna Palasinska, Sociologist and International Development Consultant dilated on the objectives of the seminar meant for learning the Anthropological key concepts to promote the study of the culture of The Gambia; apply Anthropological tools to collect, codify and synthesise cultural information in group tasks; describe and analyse situations and opinions about culture, environment, and development, relating them to subjective, Anthropological and Sociological aspects and as well learn to do Ethnographic writing for the report preparation.
