Mr. Yahya Sonko is a Gambian migration and human rights advocate, community development practitioner, and diaspora engagement activist. As Co-Founder of the Gambia European Center for Jobs, Migration and Development Agency (GECJMDA), he is committed to promoting safe and regular migration, youth employment, skills development, labour mobility, entrepreneurship, and diaspora engagement. With extensive experience working alongside migrants, returnees, youth groups, civil society organizations, and international development partners, Mr. Sonko has championed migration awareness, migrant rights, reintegration, and community development initiatives.
In 2026, Mr. Sonko was appointed as an MSD Diaspora Fellow (DDF60) by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and GK Partners (GKP) — a formal recognition of his years of dedication to advancing legal migration and diaspora development. Under the fellowship, GECJMDA serves as the partner organisation for a structured project promoting regular labour migration to Germany, German language education in The Gambia, and circular migration mentoring.
His leadership focuses on expanding legal migration pathways, strengthening partnerships between The Gambia and Europe, and creating sustainable opportunities that empower individuals while contributing to national development. His long-term vision is to contribute to a migration system that protects human dignity, promotes economic opportunity, and enables migration to become a tool for development rather than a pathway to suffering and loss.
| “Migration should be a choice, not a necessity; and when people migrate, they should do so safely, legally, and with dignity.” — Yahya Sonko |
Key Credentials (for display as tags/badges if desired)
- MSD Diaspora Fellow DDF60 — IOM & GK Partners (2026)
- National Youth Award, The Gambia (2024)
- Diaspora Engagement Award (2024)
- Speaker, Inner Council — Flüchtlingsrat Baden-Württemberg (2021–2023)
- Project Coordinator — Voluntary Return & Reintegration, IOM (2022–2023)
- Co-Founder, Gambia Youth Network Baden-Württemberg
- Migration Radio Broadcaster — Radio RFM Stuttgart (‘The Immigrants’)
- Primary Teacher Certificate (PTC), Gambia College