On 25th of June 1992, the Gorée Institute was born ; launched in an opening ceremony by President Abdou Diouf with the full support of Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary-General of the Organisation for African Unity. It was started by a group of concerned Africans committed to the ideas of progress, justice and liberty and with a strong belief in African cooperation and self - reliance.
The idea for the institute, first articulated by President Abdou Diouf himself, originated during the well known Dakar meeting for Democracy in South Africa that took place in 1987 between the then exiled leadership of the ANC and 50 progressive Afrikaners. This meeting, funded by the Danielle Mitterand Foundation and the Soros Foundation, was attended and supported by Africans from other parts of the continent and contributed significantly to the eventual installation of democracy in South Africa in 1994: a truly African solution to an African problem.
