Hi folks,

I'm pleased to report that we're finally on the way to getting a Web site to
help coordinate our efforts and toward a better Gambia.

Some of you might recall that following the killing student demonstrators last
April by the Jammeh government forces, we discussed ways and means of
coordinating our efforts by using the Internet.  We had a lot of suggestions
about how to proceed, and Dr. Amadou Janneh even went to the extent of
registering the domain names freegambia.org, and freegambia.com  He also offered
Web space on his providers server.

I discussed and, for a while, worked on getting the freegambia.org site up and
running, and toward this end consulted with Yankuba Njie (Pope), and George Sarr
(if I remember correctly).  For a variety of reasons, we have not been able to
get the freegambia.org site up and running.  First, Dr. Janneh's server used
Windows NT (which I'm not terribly keen about, given that it's Microsoft ;-)),
and second because I lost contact with Pope, about the graphics design issues
that the site would have involved.

Besides Dr. Janneh, others such as Latjor Ndow, and George Sarr have provided
tremendous help in coordinating Web-based efforts at combating the excesses of
the Jammeh government.  The latest of this was the well-waged e-mail campaign to
have Rust College cancel the invitation of Yankuba Touray and Tombong Saidy to
attend an upcoming conference there.  I would like to take this opportunity to
thank all of them for the great services they have provided our nation, and
implore them to continue the great work.

Some of you might also recall that I sent an outline of the proposed
freegambia.org Web site to this list.  For your reference, the posting is
available at:

http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind0004&L=gambia-l&O=A&F=P&P=125762

The main sections of the proposed site were as follows:

        1. Homepage
        2. Purpose of the Free Gambia site
        3. Projects
        4. Web Tools
        5. Links to External Resources
        6. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
        7. How to Help
        9. Contact Us
        10. The Culprits
            "Guilty as charged", the people that helped put this together

The above features were clearly inspired by the April 2000 killings, and aimed
at providing an Internet platform for reacting to the events.  For this reason,
the site was to have sections that dealt with responses to the April killings
(Projects), as well as Web tools to help develop a greater sense of community
for Gambians all over the world.  Among the tools planned for the site were an
online directory of Gambian organizations, a global Gambian community calendar,
and a discussion board, to name a few.

While the original draft might have sounded a bit too ambitious, it was
achievable; at least with the concerted effort and cooperation on the part of
those concerned.  As it happens, and as the saying goes, all's well that ends
well.  Although the launch of the freegambia.org site has been delayed, it seems
that it was not all for naught.  Indeed, it was worth the wait.

Fortunately for us, I came across a Web portal package called PHP Nuke
(http://www.phpnuke.org) two or so months ago (or something like that).  The
core package, along with added components or addons (see
http://www.phpnuke.web.id) provide almost all the funtionalities I specified in
my April draft referenced above.  For your information, PHP Nuke is free, and
developed by a Venezuelan programmer, while the most famous PHP Nuke Addon
effort is headed by a guy in Indonesia.  PHP Nuke also has an E-Groups mailing
list with close to a thousand subscribers from around the world.

Given our continuing efforts at fighting the excesses of the Jammeh government,
and the increasing number of Gambians on the Internet, it has become ever more
important that we get a Web site similar to what freegambia.org was intended
for.  Toward this end, I contacted Sofie Ceesay asking for permission to
register the concernedgambians.org domain name for use as a Web site to help
centralize our growing community of online users interested in using the
Internet to further the interests of The Gambia.

Again, some of you might recall the Soffie Ceesay sent a posting to Gambia-L
along with a response from President Clinton about the April killings in The
Gambia, and the US government's reaction to them.  The letter was a big
accomplishment, and demonstrated yet again the positive results that can be
yielded by a concerted effort to inform the world about what's going on in The
Gambia.  If you missed it, here's the link to it:


(http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind0006&L=gambia-l&O=A&F=P&P=3328)

I thought that the name concernedgambians.org was more apt than freegambia.org
for the simple reason that the former better summarized the essence of all our
efforts, and where we stand on the issues and developments in The Gambia.  For
this reason, I was glad that Soffie, after consultation with her colleagues
agreed that I should register the concernedgambians.org domain name.

I registered the site about a week or so ago, and have already done a test
installation of the package.  The site is at http://concernedgambians.org (or
http://www.concernedgambians.org).  Please note that I have not yet installed
the addons, and for this reason, applications such as the discussion forum, and
an improved membership directory are not yet available.

The purpose of the demonstration site is to solicit feedback to help the final
design of the site.  I recall a number of people had volunteered way back in
June to help edit different parts of the proposed freegambia.org Web site.  I'd
appreciate those people, and any one else who would like to help let me know.
Specifically, I would like help in the following areas:

1.  Logo and graphics design  (the concernedgambians.org logo is just temporary,
and I cobbled it together using online design tools.  A graphic artist I'm not;
and it shows1)

2.  Editors and Contributors.  Or whatever you want to call yourself.
Basically, what I want is people who would be responsible for managing content
in different parts of the concernedgambians.org Web site.  You'll notice that
the demo site has different sections for news, topics (articles on various
subjects), etc.  I would like people to take responsibility to ensure that
quality material gets on the site.  As I envisage it, concernedgambians.org
would be for material such as newspaper articles, scholarly works (e.g. Dr.
Saine's articles), etc. and organized in a logical structure that would make it
easy for people to get to what they need fast.  For your information, you are
not required to be a computer expert to help.  The PHP Nuke package makes the
management of content fairly easy, and straight forward.

3.  Suggestions for Content.  Again, I'll start with what I have in mind, and
everyone's welcome to share their thoughts on the matter.  We can have sections
on different topics such as economic development, health, education, women's,
and business develop issues.  Basically, any and every subject that has a
reasonable number of people interested in it can be set up as a seperate section
or topic.  This way, people with a common interest can have their own area to
exchange information.  Furthermore, various Gambian organizations can also use
the site to post news and information about their activities.  The PHP Nuke
Addon crew is working on integrating a calendar to PHP Nuke, and as soon as
that's resolved, I can install it, to enable all organizations registered on the
site use it to share their calendar of activities.

Before I forget, I should mention that the concernedgambians.org site will also
contribute to online efforts to restore democracy and the rule of law in The
Gambia.  Toward this end, the site's resources and tools will be available to
all concerned Gambian organizations both within and outside the country.
Furthermore, I'll stick my neck out and add that this offer is extended even to
the APRC, because of the simple reason that we should try to be as inclusive as
is possible.  Thus, we should have space on the site to enable all political
parties in The Gambia disseminate information online.

This e-mail is, as usual, getting rather long so I'm going to stop here for now.
But before that, I'd like to say thanks to many people who have provided and/or
offered help and or ideas that resulted in the concernedgambians.org site.  In
particular, Soffie Ceesay and her colleagues who came up with this name to begin
with, Saul Mbenga and the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in The
Gambia folks, and also my good friend, Isatou Jack, and all those who have
suggested on- and offline various ways and means of developing a stronger
Gambian community online.  I must also mention the flag-bearers, Latjor Ndow and
George Sarr, who continue to blaze trails in the Internet frontier, and are
working hard to keep us on the frontline of the information technology
revolution.  Keep up the great work!

Finally, I'm looking forward to your suggestions and ideas about where we should
take concernedgambians.org  It is my sincere hope that the site will mark
another milestone in our efforts to bring about a peaceful, prosperous, and just
Gambia.  And just like The Gambia, it is up to us to choose whether it becomes
something we can genuinely be proud of, or it withers on the vine.  I hope we
choose wisely.

Have a great weekend, and best wishes in your endeavors.

Katim

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