---
title: Gorée Institute
type: research
status: active
country: SN
website: https://goreeinstitut.org
logo: /assets/org-logos/goree-institute.png
contact:
  checked: 2026-08-09
  email: info@goreeinstitut.org
  form: https://goreeinstitut.org/contact
  source: https://goreeinstitut.org/contact
summary: A pan-African civil society organisation founded in 1992 on Gorée Island,
  Senegal — working on political governance and electoral processes, peace consolidation,
  and democratic dialogue across West Africa, with diplomatic status and a nearly
  35-year institutional track record.
concepts:
- democracy
- deliberative-democracy
- representative-democracy
location:
  latitude: 14.7167
  longitude: -17.4677
  name: Dakar, Senegal
  precision: city
events:
- date: '1992-01-01'
  title: Founded on Gorée Island, Senegal, as a Centre for Democracy, Development
    and Culture in Africa
  url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goree_Institute
  quote: was founded on 25 June 1992
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: true
activity:
  rss:
    checked: 2026-08-17
    date: 2026-06-01
    note: 'Latest post: Lancement de l’étude sur la mise en œuvre de l’Agenda 1325 :
      après 25 ans de la '
    url: https://goreeinstitut.org/lancement-de-letude-sur-la-mise-en-oeuvre-de-lagenda-1325-apres-25-ans-de-la-resolution-quel-futur-feministe-pour-la-paix-en-afrique-de-louest-et-au-sahel/
last_checked: '2026-08-09'
---

The Gorée Institute was founded in 1992 on Gorée Island — the symbolic heart of the Atlantic slave trade, now a UNESCO World Heritage site — as a Centre for Democracy, Development and Culture in Africa. It holds diplomatic status and has been a fixture of West African democratic civil society for nearly 35 years.

The Institute's programmes span political governance and electoral processes, peace consolidation, women's participation in peace and security, and the "Power of Dialogue" — structured political dialogue processes in fragile democracies. It runs an annual symposium on democratic transformation and is a partner in the Charter Project Africa, working to support AU member states in implementing the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG). Its institutional longevity in a region where many civil society organisations are project-funded and short-lived is itself a democratic asset — institutional memory matters for accountability.

Gorée Institute's approach is more diplomatic and process-oriented than the civic-tech networks (AfricTivistes, CTIN) or governance platforms (Governance Hub Africa) also in the landscape. It occupies the space where democratic dialogue meets institutional reform — doing the slow, trust-dependent work of convening political actors across divides, which complements the faster-moving transparency and technology work without duplicating it.

## Links

- Website: [goreeinstitut.org](https://goreeinstitut.org)

## See also

- [Democracy](../concepts/democracy.md)
- [Deliberative Democracy](../concepts/deliberative-democracy.md)
- [AfricTivistes](africtivistes.md)