THE SULAYMAN S. NYANG & LAMIN O. SAIINEH INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH and JUSTICE

Environmental and security challenges (amplified by divisions of politics, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and sectarianism) plague the global community, especially developing countries like The Gambia. The Gambia and other countries in its subregion face worrying signs of religious extremism, ethnic and political polarization, which if not studied and addressed through constructive dialogue could fester into community-based conflict.  A few examples of these problems are—skirmishes in the Fonis; community tensions with Chinese overfishing in Gunjur; growing land disputes in the Kombos, sectarianism in Muslim communities, and Muslim/Christian religious tensions, etc.

A research and dialogue platform, is needed that carries out research and convenes concerned stakeholders into a constructive dialogue to promote understanding, build social peace, justice, and promote social stability in support of The Gambia’s Transitional Justice Program. The Nyang–Sanneh Institute seeks to be that platform. The platform is named after two distinguished and globally renowned scholars of Gambian origin, Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang, formerly of Howard University, and Dr. Lamin O. Sanneh, formerly of Yale University. The Sulayman S. Nyang and Lamin Sanneh Institute for Social Research and Justice is an independent, not-for-profit and a non-government entity.