Nominee: Gambia Participates
Category: NGO of the Year
Country: The Gambia
Edition: West African Citizens Awards 2026
Building a More Participatory and Accountable Gambia
The strength of a democracy is measured not only by the institutions it establishes but also by the extent to which its citizens can participate in public life, access information, question decisions and hold those entrusted with public responsibilities accountable.
Across Africa, civil society organisations play an important role in strengthening these principles. Through research, public education, advocacy and community engagement, they help bridge the gap between institutions and the people they serve.
In The Gambia, Gambia Participates has built its work around this responsibility.
Founded in 2016, the organisation emerged during a significant period in the country’s democratic history. Its founding purpose was to encourage citizen participation and democratic engagement at a time when The Gambia was seeking to move beyond 22 years of authoritarian rule.
Since then, Gambia Participates has developed into a civil society organisation working across governance, fiscal transparency, anti-corruption, electoral integrity, access to information and public accountability.
Its work reflects a central belief: meaningful national development requires informed citizens, transparent institutions and opportunities for people to participate in decisions that affect their communities.
This commitment to strengthening civic participation and institutional accountability forms the foundation of its nomination for NGO of the Year at the West African Citizens Awards 2026.
Founded During a Defining Moment in Gambian History
Gambia Participates was established in 2016, a period of considerable political and democratic transition in The Gambia.
The organisation’s founder, Marr Nyang, has explained in an interview with The Standard Newspaper that the initiative began with a desire to mobilise citizens and encourage voter participation ahead of the country’s 2016 presidential election.
At the time, the organisation’s work included community mobilisation and voter education, helping citizens understand their rights and the importance of participating in the electoral process.
What began as a grassroots civic initiative gradually expanded into a broader institutional programme focused on democratic governance.
Between 2017 and 2020, Gambia Participates developed activities around fiscal transparency, anti-corruption, elections, strategic litigation and access to information. From 2021 onwards, it increasingly incorporated digital tools and technology into its work, including platforms designed to make public information more accessible.
The organisation’s development demonstrates how an initiative established around electoral participation can evolve into a wider platform for public accountability and governance reform.
Promoting Fiscal Transparency and Responsible Public Spending
One of Gambia Participates’ principal areas of intervention is fiscal transparency: making it easier for citizens to understand how public money is raised, allocated, managed and spent.
Government budgets are often presented through technical documents and financial language that can be difficult for ordinary citizens to interpret. Yet budget decisions influence essential areas of everyday life, including education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture and public services.
Gambia Participates works to make this information more accessible through research, public education, budget sensitisation and engagement between citizens and public institutions.
Its work includes research connected to the Open Budget Survey, which examines the transparency of government budget information, opportunities for public participation and the strength of oversight institutions.
The organisation also facilitates conversations between citizens and decision-makers, creating opportunities for communities to raise questions and communicate their priorities during public budget discussions.
Its 2023 Annual Report documented engagement with 817 people in person across all seven regions of The Gambia, including 72 satellite villages. The organisation also reported reaching 214,045 people through social media during that year.
The report further documented budget discussions involving citizens and representatives of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture.
These activities illustrate an important dimension of its work: helping citizens understand that public budgets are not merely government documents but decisions that have direct consequences for communities.
Making Public Information Accessible Through Digital Innovation
Gambia Participates has also recognised the importance of technology in strengthening civic participation.
Rather than relying exclusively on traditional advocacy and public meetings, the organisation has developed and supported digital platforms that help citizens access information, understand public institutions and engage with governance issues.
Among its initiatives are:
Know Your Budget: A citizen-focused platform designed to make government budget allocations easier to understand and follow. By presenting financial information in more accessible ways, it supports public awareness of how national resources are planned and distributed.
Follow The Money: An initiative associated with public financial accountability, encouraging citizens to pay attention to the allocation and use of public resources.
Parliamentary Hub: A digital platform providing access to parliamentary proceedings, committee activities and legislative information, helping citizens follow the work of their representatives.
Budget Dashboard: A data visualisation platform designed to help users explore and analyse national budget information.
Marble: A research and analysis platform supporting data-driven policy insights and impact studies.
Gambia Corruption Index (GCI): An initiative focused on measuring and monitoring corruption trends and anti-corruption efforts.
The organisation’s digital work also includes GamLeaks, an anonymous whistleblowing platform developed in collaboration with GlobaLeaks. The platform provides a channel through which individuals can report alleged public-sector corruption while protecting their identities.
These initiatives demonstrate how technology can support more informed public participation by reducing barriers to accessing information and creating additional channels for accountability.
Strengthening Anti-Corruption Advocacy and Institutional Reform
Anti-corruption advocacy is another central pillar of Gambia Participates’ work.
The organisation has undertaken research, public campaigns, social audits and policy advocacy aimed at strengthening institutional safeguards against corruption.
Its engagement has included sustained advocacy around the legislation of The Gambia’s Anti-Corruption Bill.
In a 2021 interview with The Standard Newspaper, founder Marr Nyang discussed the organisation’s efforts to engage parliamentarians, lawyers and anti-corruption experts in reviewing the proposed legislation and identifying areas requiring attention.
The organisation’s 2023 Annual Report subsequently recorded the passage of the Anti-Corruption Act, following years of advocacy around the legislation.
This is an important example of the relationship between civil society advocacy and institutional reform. The work of an organisation in this space is not limited to drawing attention to governance challenges; it also involves research, stakeholder engagement and contributing evidence and recommendations to policy discussions.
Gambia Participates has continued to position anti-corruption as a matter of public interest, institutional responsibility and responsible management of national resources.
Supporting Electoral Integrity and Democratic Participation
The organisation’s electoral work is closely connected to the circumstances surrounding its establishment.
Gambia Participates has participated in voter education, election observation and initiatives designed to encourage citizens to engage peacefully and meaningfully in democratic processes.
Its 2023 Annual Report documented a systematic observation exercise during the Mayoral and Chairmanship elections in The Gambia. The organisation also reported deploying observers beyond its national borders to monitor elections in Nigeria and Sierra Leone during the same year.
This regional dimension is significant. It reflects an understanding that democratic participation and electoral integrity are not isolated national concerns but part of a wider West African conversation about accountable institutions and citizen involvement.
Its election-related activities include public education, observation, monitoring and engagement intended to strengthen confidence in democratic processes.
The organisation’s current programme also identifies preparations and public information initiatives connected to The Gambia’s 2026 presidential election.
Taking Governance Conversations Beyond Urban Centres
An important measure of civic engagement is whether information and opportunities for participation reach people outside major urban centres.
Gambia Participates’ annual reporting provides evidence of its engagement across the country’s seven administrative regions.
Its 2022 Annual Report documented in-person engagement with 1,446 people, reaching the seven regions and 77 satellite villages. Its 2023 report recorded engagement with 817 people across the seven regions and 72 satellite villages.
These figures are significant because they demonstrate an approach that combines institutional advocacy with direct community engagement.
Public accountability becomes more meaningful when citizens in different communities can understand government decisions, ask questions about public expenditure and communicate their development priorities.
Through budget discussions, sensitisation activities, research and civic education, Gambia Participates has worked to make governance conversations more accessible beyond the circles of policymakers and specialists.
Partnerships, Research and Regional Engagement
The organisation’s work has also involved collaboration with national and international partners.
Its official website identifies organisations including the International Republican Institute (IRI), the United States Embassy in Banjul, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and other civil society and development partners among its partners.
Gambia Participates is also listed in UNESCO’s Global Civil Society Organizations and Academic Network on AI Ethics and Policy. UNESCO describes the organisation’s work as extending across anti-corruption research and advocacy, fiscal transparency, elections, transitional justice and rural community development.
The organisation’s research and publications provide another important part of its institutional contribution. Its reports document activities, communicate findings and provide material for public discussion about governance and accountability.
This combination of research, advocacy, technology, community engagement and partnerships gives Gambia Participates a broad institutional profile within The Gambia’s civil society landscape.
Why Gambia Participates Deserves Recognition
The work of an NGO is not always measured through the visibility of its campaigns or the size of its public profile. Some of its most important contributions take place through research, community conversations, policy engagement, public education and the gradual strengthening of institutions.
Gambia Participates operates in a field where progress requires sustained commitment. Transparency and accountability are not achieved through a single campaign or publication. They require consistent efforts to make information available, encourage public participation, strengthen oversight and support institutional responsibility.
Its documented work across fiscal transparency, anti-corruption, elections, digital civic tools and community engagement provides a substantial basis for recognising its contribution to civil society in The Gambia.
Its nomination for NGO of the Year is therefore an opportunity to acknowledge an organisation whose activities focus on an essential part of national development: ensuring that citizens are informed, institutions are accountable and public resources are managed in the interest of the people.
A WAFRIC Awards 2026 Nominee
Gambia Participates is nominated for NGO of the Year – The Gambia at the West African Citizens Awards 2026.
The nomination forms part of WAFRIC Awards’ commitment to celebrating individuals, organisations and institutions contributing to the development of West Africa across different professional and social sectors.
Under the 2026 edition theme, “Recognizing the Unseen. Celebrating the Exceptional,” the awards acknowledge contributions that deserve wider appreciation, including the sustained work of organisations advancing public participation, institutional accountability and community development.
Gambia Participates’ work reflects the importance of civil society in shaping a more informed and participatory society.
Support Gambia Participates. Celebrate its contribution to The Gambia. Make your vote count.
YOUR VOTE. THEIR IMPACT.
Vote through the official WAFRIC Awards 2026 public voting page:
https://wafricawards.com.ng/official-public-voting/
Read the voting procedures and criteria:
https://wafricawards.com.ng/wafric-awards-2026-voting-procedures-and-criteria/
Voting closes November 15, 2026.
Research and References
- Gambia Participates – Official Website – Organisational mission, programmes, digital platforms and current activities.
- About Gambia Participates – Founding history, mission, vision and intervention areas.
- Gambia Participates – 2023 Annual Report – Community engagement, election observation, budget advocacy and documented activities.
- Gambia Participates – 2024 Annual Report – Institutional activities, fiscal transparency and accountability work.
- UNESCO – Gambia Participates – Independent organisational profile and GamLeaks platform.
- The Standard Newspaper – Marr Nyang, Founder and Executive Director of Gambia Participates – Interview covering the organisation’s establishment, early activities and anti-corruption advocacy.
- Gambia Participates – Publications – Research reports and institutional publications.