ABOUT US
a. Type of
organisation
We are an
independent, Pan-African, Public Interest
Organisation (PIO). It is clear that the
Goree Institute has come through various
phases of development. It is also clear that it is
not an activist NGO, nor a donor agency but
essentially a facilitative organisation
which builds alliances around the objectives of
promoting electoral reform, peace building,
community development and cultural development in
Africa: certain projects have a continental,
regional or country specific focus.
b.
Date of establishment
The
Goree Institute was launched in 1992 by
Senegal's Former
President Abdou Diouf. The Institute was one of
the consequences of the so-called “Dakar Meeting”
between exiled ANC leaders and predominantly
Afrikaans-speaking professionals from South
Africa. The meeting took place in 1987 and
initiated a prolonged dialogue process in South
Africa, which eventually led to its democratic
government in 1994.
c. Partners
We build
solid partnerships based on mutual respect,
commitment and professionalism between our
stakeholders and ourselves. We also work with
NGOs, regional organisations, international
agencies, opinion leaders and activists in
promoting processes and building structures which
aim to advance and secure democratic practices in
Africa.
The Gorée Institute is grateful
to the international donor partners who made the
implementation of our projects and programmes
possible.
List of Donors 2005:
Royal Dutch Embassy - SENEGAL
Open Society Institute NY (OSI)
Open Society Initiative for
Southern Africa (OSISA)
Royal Danish Embassy - SOUTH
AFRICA
Royal Norwegian Embassy
of South Africa
Ford Foundation,
UNESCO
Konrad Adenaur Foundation
International Institute for
Education
German Ministry for Economic
Cooperation
German Technical Cooperation
Agency (GTZ)
d.
Approach
The
Gorée Institute is a facilitative
organisation which intends to build alliances
around the objectives of promoting electoral
reform, peace building, community development and
cultural development in Africa: some projects will
have a continental, regional or country specific
focus.
The
Institute has certain infrastructural assets such
as an accommodation facility as well as a
conference centre. We make the privileged space of
our Institute on Gorée Island available to
protagonists, activists and scholars for
reflection, mediation and creative solutions. It
has thus taken on the characteristics of a
"think thank'', always
praxis-orientated and constantly working in
conjunction with other NGOs and where possible
with regional organizations and internationals
agencies.
e. Structure
The
structure of the Institute consists of a Board of
Trustees, which is its highest authority and to
which the Executive Director reports. The board
consists of twelve prominent Africans from various
parts of the continent who meet once a year to
discuss the Institute's political and strategic
orientation. The acting Chairman of the Board, for
a renewable mandate of three years, is Professor
Babacar Kanté.
The
Executive Director of the Institute, currently M.
Breyten Breytenbach, is the highest executive
authority of the Institute and is charged with
overseeing its activities. The Institute's
activities are coordinated by the General Manager.
These activities are subdivided between the
project activities (i.e.: the four main project
areas) and the accommodation facilities, known as
Teral.
The
programmes and projects constitute our
organisational ‘'Raison d'être''. They are led by
Programme Managers and
highly qualified and motivated Associated Staff.
Aside from the programmes
and projects, the Teral department makes our
facilities and services available to other
organisations and companies for workshops,
seminars and training, in order to raise at least
20% of our annual income by valorising our proper
infrastructures. The activities of Teral are
autonomous and were thus designed to lead the
institution to self-sufficiency. Although this
has not yet been achieved it is a goal being
pursued with vigour. The Teral department
is led by a Teral Manager.
