AWE Media Sierra Leone

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson  On behalf of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio, Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh on Monday, December 1, 2025, officially launched the 2026 National Population and Housing Census alongside two landmark initiatives designed to strengthen development planning, modernize national data systems, and deepen accountability in governance. The event hosted by Statistics Sierra Leone at the Bintumani Conference Center in Aberdeen, Freetown, introduced three national development tools namely: the 2026 Population and Housing Census, the Sierra Leone National Development Tracker (SL-NDT), and the Power of Data Initiative.  Delivering the welcome address at the launch which attracted strong government backing and robust support from development partners, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Madam Kenyeh Barlay, emphasized the need to modernize Sierra Leone’s data ecosystem to improve service delivery and reinforce citizen-centred governa...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson  The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL) in collaboration with the Danish Institute for Human Rights, has launched a nationwide awareness campaign on climate change and its human rights implications, beginning in the northeastern city of Makeni. The day-long engagement, held on November 20, 2025, at the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) Hall, brought together key regional stakeholders, including representatives of the Sierra Leone Police, traditional leaders, civil society organizations, and the media with the desire to protect people, preserve the planet, empower communities, and safeguard the country’s future. Established by an Act of Parliament in 2004, the HRCSL has increasingly recognized the growing threat that climate change poses to human rights, and to address these concerns, the Commission recently created a Directorate of Climate Change and Information Services, dedicated to monitoring environmental impacts and informing the public. ...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson  The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL) in collaboration with the Danish Institute for Human Rights, has launched a nationwide awareness campaign on climate change and its human rights implications, beginning in the northeastern city of Makeni. The day-long engagement, held on November 20, 2025, at the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) Hall, brought together key regional stakeholders, including representatives of the Sierra Leone Police, traditional leaders, civil society organizations, and the media with the desire to protect people, preserve the planet, empower communities, and safeguard the country’s future. Established by an Act of Parliament in 2004, the HRCSL has increasingly recognized the growing threat that climate change poses to human rights, and to address these concerns, the Commission recently created a Directorate of Climate Change and Information Services, dedicated to monitoring environmental impacts and informing the public. ...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson  At the opening of the 2025 Media and Development Conference in Abuja on Monday, November 24, Juana Kweitel, Vice President and Chief Programmes Officer of Luminate Global, delivered a keynote address that underscored one central message: the future of global democracy and media development depends on collective action. Speaking on the theme: “Reimagining Democracy, Development, and Data for the Next Decade,” the keynote speaker emphasized that no single institution can safeguard democracy or strengthen the media ecosystem alone. “We need all hands on deck,” she said, urging journalists, civil society organizations, human rights advocates, and philanthropic actors to work in concert. “Journalists must hold truth to power, civil society must stand firm on human rights, and the philanthropic and donor community must continue to play their part to ensure democracy thrives.” Furthermore, Kweitel reaffirmed Luminate’s commitment to supporting a technologically i...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson  Sierra Leonean music legend Jimmy Bangura alias Jimmy B on Friday, November 14, 2025 paid a heartfelt tribute to fellow musician and long-time collaborator Daddy Saj, celebrating not just his 50th birthday, but a brotherhood forged through struggle, resilience, and creativity. “Today, I celebrate loyalty. I celebrate gratitude and respect. I celebrate Daddy SAJ, Jimmy B begins, taking readers back to their first encounter nearly three decades ago. The year was 1997. Conakry, Guinea had become a place of refuge for thousands fleeing the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone.  Amid the uncertainty and chaos, Jimmy B met a young refugee, full of energy, ambition, and raw talent, whose fire left a lasting impression on him. That young man was Daddy Saj. Over several conversations and spontaneous musical exchanges, Jimmy B felt a spark that would change the trajectory of Sierra Leone’s post-war entertainment industry.  Inspired and re-energized, he returne...