For business and investment related events, please visit www.sliip.org
_______________________________________________________________________
Forthcoming Events
Please contact info@sldn.org.uk to place details of future events
_______________________________________________________________________
New Ideas for Africa :: 12 March 2009 :: 6:30pm-9pm
You are warmly invited to our monthly “Ideas Workshop”, for a lively look at London-based business and social projects that are changing and challenging perceptions of Africa and Africans.
New Ideas for Africa is a forum that brings together Africans and friends of Africa who would like to make a difference for communities in our home continent, through business ideas, social entrepreneurship and charitable ventures.
Our monthly meeting is a place to come to find people passionate about their ideas, to be inspired to develop your own ideas, and to build support for projects. Whether you’re looking for feedback on an existing project, or have a “back-of-the-envelope” idea you’d like to develop further, you’ll gain insights, inspiration, constructive criticism and contacts from a dynamic group of participants from across Africa and beyond.
New Ideas for Africa focuses on:
• Solutions – we think there’s already plenty of analysis of problems out there
• Creating the realities we wish to see
• A “what can I do?” rather than a “what others should do” approach
• People-led solutions rather than interventions by large institutions
• Encouraging everyone to participate in the conversation, rather than listening to a one-way flow of information from a few experts.
Sound like something you would enjoy? We look forward to welcoming you on:
Date: Thursday 12 March 2009 Time: 6:30pm to 9pm (for a 7pm start) Venue: Unltd*, 123 Whitecross Street, London, EC1Y 8JJ Map: http://tinyurl.com/bcr6a2 (nearest tube – Barbican/Moorgate)
There is a £5 contribution to support the event (light refreshments included).
If you have any questions about the meeting call or text Femi on 07707 318449 or send an email to newideaslondon@africaplusplus.org
RSVP to femi@africaplusplus.org by 10 March if you’d like to come along. Please forward this invitation to friends and other people passionate about Africa!
We look forward to seeing you,
Femi and the Africa++ team
_______________________________________________________________________
St George’s Foundation Charity Dance
In Celebration of 48 years of Sierra Leone’s Independence
Date: 25th of April
Venue: Tiger Tiger, 29 The Haymarket (next to Piccadilly Circus)
Raising some money for a fantastic cause
Raffles and plenty of giveaways
Comedians and a Special Perfomance
All profits to go to St Georges foundation
Aims & objectives: To raise school fees for the summer term for the orphans who live at the St Georges Foundation.
Target: £2000
In 2007
a permanent centre was built for the St Georges foundation
children in Grafton (a village just outside Freetown the
capital), and they have settled in well. The children are
settling into school even better than previous groups at
school. School reports on past children show that they
consistently perform in the top 25% of their classes
_______________________________________________________________________
Past Events
International
Women’s Day Celebration
Community Action Southwark
In partnership with
Southwark Refugee Community Forum
Have the pleasure to invite you to an International Women’s
Day
event to recognise and celebrate the contribution of Latin
American,
Sierra Leonean, African Francophone, refugee and other
ethnic minority
women in Southwark.
Date: Friday 06 March 2009
Time: from 04.00pm to 07.00pm
Venue: Inspire, The Crypt at St Peter’s, Liverpool Grove,
London SE17 2HH
Come and enjoy with us!! Cultural Dance, Lively Music and
Multi-cultural Food
Free admission | Children welcome
For further information, please contact:
Claudine Bongo Community Development Officer
Community Action Southwark
020 7358 4189 / 07543 050 360
Eltayeb Hassan Community Development Worker
Southwark Refugee Community Forum
020 7277 4400
Community
|
Action
|
Southwark (CAS)
The main contacts for CAS are 020 7703 2368 and
www.casouthwark.org.uk
_______________________________________________________________________
Friday
14th November 2008
The Office of the
President (GoSL)
Invites you to a forum on
"Harnessing
the
Diaspora"
with
participation from UNDP, The Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, Rokel
Commercial Bank,
EcoBank, United Bank of Africa and Zenith Bank
Date: Friday
14th
November
2008
Venue: The Theatre, Walworth Road
Methodist Church,
54 Camberwell Road London SE5 0EN
Map
Time:
Registration at
4pm
Forum: 5.30pm
PROMPT START
To book a
place and for a copy of the programme, please
email
info@sldn.org.uk
_______________________________________________________________________
You
are invited to a Symposium on
Poverty in Sierra Leone
at
Theatre
Hall, West Wing
Walworth Methodist Church
54 Camberwell Road, SE5 0EN,UK
Sunday
21st September 2008
Time:
2pm - 4.30pm
Programme
Chairman: Mr. Micky Fofanah
International Association For
Sierra Leoneans Aboard
Presenter: Revd. Eric Mustapha
Poverty in Sierra Leone:
An
inquiry into persistent poverty
Profile
of the Presenter:
Revd.
Eric Mustapha
Revd.
Eric Mustapha is currently a minister of the Walworth
Methodist Church, which is the largest Methodist church in
U.K. He is a trustee of Methodist Relief and
Development Fund
(MRDF),
MRDF's
Coordinator for the Methodist Church, London
District, and a coordinator for the Association of Black
Methodist Youth
(ABMY).
He is passionate about social justice and global
development. As a minister, he believes that the
church should be fully involved in all aspects of
development in contemporary society.
Revd Eric Mustapha is an ordained Minister. He has
ministered for 17 years in Sierra Leone, Germany and United
Kingdom.
He has a degree in Theology, a law degree (LLB Hons), and a
Master of science degree; Presently pursuing his doctorate
in development studies with special emphasis on
poverty at London South Bank University.
Thesis:
Political Economy of Poverty Reduction: an Inquiry into
Persistent Poverty in Sierra Leone
RSVP
Prof. Okrafo-Smart
Tel .0793 0622 980
Email:dwvariety@msn.com
Bromley Road, P O Box 58 921
Catford,
London SE6 9EN UK
_______________________________________________________________________
PRESIDENTIAL
VISIT: JANUARY 2008
Sunday 27th January
His Excellency, the President Ernest Bai Koroma will meet
officials at Southwark Council @ The Peckham Town Hall,
Southwark on Sunday, 27th January 2008 for 3:00 pm.
Thereafter, he will meet with Sierra Leoneans in the
Diaspora @ The Damilola Taylor Centre in Peckham SE5.
Please contact Bockarie Stevens on 07956610762 for more
details on the meeting at the Damilola
Centre.
Tuesday 29 January 2008, 13.15 - 14.15, Chatham House
Sierra Leone: An Agenda for
Change
Speaker
HE
Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of Sierra
Leone
Seven years after a successful British military and
humanitarian intervention, Sierra Leone last year enjoyed
its first democratic change of government in many years.
Sierra Leone is currently bottom of the UN Human
Development Index, and the new President has promised to
tackle the country’s many challenges with a highly
ambitious programme of reforms. With the UK still Sierra
Leone’s major development partner, the President will
outline his plans for the country.
The presentation will be on the record. The questions and
answers will be under the Chatham House Rule.
PLEASE REGISTER BY 17.00 ON THURSDAY 24 JANUARY:
asoliman@chathamhouse.org.uk
YOU WILL BE SENT AN E-TICKET ON FRIDAY 25 JANUARY WHICH YOU
SHOULD PRINT AND BRING WITH YOU TO THE EVENT.
_______________________________________________________________________
http://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/34
3220rerrr
_______________________________________________________________________
Pedal for Sierra Leone
Saturday 24th
– Monday 26th
May 2008
This three-day sponsored cycle ride to the French port of
Dieppe will raise funds for the Hastings Sierra Leone
Friendship Link. The Pedal for Sierra Leone will cover some
beautiful countryside on both sides of the Channel and take
in many places of historic interest en route.
For more information, contact organisers Nice Work on 01797
230730; Email info@nice-work.org.uk or visit
www.nice-work.org.uk
_______________________________________________________________________
The African Women's Protocol
A
public event co-hosted by
Oxfam GB, Akina Mama wa Afrika, and Womankind
January 23rd 12-2pm
Franklin-Wilkins Building , Kings College
50 Stamford Street, Waterloo, London SE1 9NH, Waterloo
This is a meeting to share the experiences of women's
movements' efforts in Africa to popularize, and lobby for
the ratification and implementation of the African Women's
Protocol. Members of three civil society organisations and
a government official from Malawi will share their
experiences of working on this important Protocol.
The Protocol came into force in November 2005 and is the
first instrument of international law developed by Africans
for women in Africa. It reinforces attention on women's
rights as elaborated by other international and regional
instruments. And it is the first instrument in
international law to explicitly include women's sexual and
reproductive rights to medical abortion when pregnancy
results from rape or incest or when the continuation of
pregnancy endangers the health of the mother, and calls for
the legal prohibition of female genital mutilation.
Speakers
will include:
•
Matrine Bbukku Chulu, Women and Law Southern Africa
(WILSA),
Zambia
•
Christobel Chakwana, Deputy Director of Women, Ministry of
Women and
Child Welfare , Malawi
•
Muchimba Sikumba Dils, Africa Gender Equality and Women's
Empowerment
Monitor (AGM), South Africa
•
Therese Niyondiko, FEMNET (representing the Solidarity for
Africa Women's
Rights - SOAWR)
We
welcome you to join us to hear about the inspiring work of
the social
movement that has brought this Protocol into force, and the
international
solidarity that is needed to extend the work to effective
implementation
and ensure that the rights of African women are fully
respected.
Sandwiches
and tea/coffee will be available
Please let Ann Burgess, Oxfam GB, know if you are planning
to attend so we
can cater for numbers: aburgess@oxfam. org.uk Tel 01865
472018
_______________________________________________________________________
West
Africa/EU Business Relations: Growth through Partnership'
Kimbima
Hotel Conference Centre Aberdeen Freetown
Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th November 2007.
For more information, please contact:
Tunde
Titilayo
Consultant &Forum Secretary
2 Main Motor Rd
Congo Cross
Freetown
+232-76-593-765
_______________________________________________________________________
Centre
for Democracy and Development (CDD)
Conference: West African Diaspora in the UK: Communicating
and Collaborating with UK Policy and Decision-Makers
Date:
5th November 2007
Time:
10 am – 2pm
Venue:
Room G3, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square WC1
Background
The
2001 census indicates that in the UK, out of a total black
African population of 485,277, the overwhelming majority
originate from West African countries such as Nigeria,
Ghana and Sierra Leone, with Nigeria and Ghana alone
totalling nearly 150,000. Yet, despite these statistics,
there is little interaction and cooperation between the
West African Diaspora and UK policy and decision-makers. As
a result, the aspirations of the members of this community
and the challenges facing them are often unknown or
ignored, the social and political implications of their
presence in the UK overlooked, and their real as well as
potential economic contribution to both the UK and their
countries of origin, unacknowledged.
To remedy the above, the Centre for Democracy and
Development (CDD), is organising a roundtable between CDD,
the Department for International Development (DFID), the
Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO), and other UK policy and
decision-makers.
Main
Aim
The
roundtable seeks to facilitate an exchange of ideas between
members of the West African Diaspora and UK policy and
decision-makers. The discussions will revolve around the
aspirations of the members of the West African community,
the challenges facing them, the resources available to them
in the UK and how they can work with UK policy and
decision-makers to achieve common objectives.
Expected
Outcomes
CDD
expects this roundtable to serve as a platform for
information generation and exchange. It is hoped that:
▪ UK policy and decision-makers will enhance their
knowledge of the aspirations of the members of the West
African Diaspora as well as the challenges confronting
them;
▪ Members of the UK-based West African Diaspora will learn
more about the resources available to them from the FCO,
DFID and other organisations.
▪ UK policy and decision-makers and members of the West
African Diaspora will find out ways of improving
communication and collaboration.
Chair:
Dr. David Styan, school of politics, Birkbeck,
Speakers Include:
Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim, CDD Director; Dr. Funmi Olonisakin,
King's College, London; Ms Charlotte Heath, DFID and Mr.
Robin Gwynn, FCO.
Refreshments
provided
Please RSVP to
sbradwell@cdd.org.uk
We
are grateful to the Centre of African Studies for hosting
us at SOAS
_______________________________________________________________________
Call
for Papers
The Foundation for Democracy in Africa and African-New
World Studies at Florida International University, in
partnership with Miami-Dade
Community College (North Miami), are pleased to invite
papers for the 10th AfrICANDO Conference in Miami
Date:
Sept. 19-22, 2007.
Click here for more information and contact
details
<</span>http://www.democracy-africa.org/aghttp:/www.democracy-africa.org/africando%202007/Africando
_Call%20for%20papers.pdfoacsonet/ghana%202007/2007
_agoa_cso_session.pdf>
The
Sierra Leone Elections Debate
The
Debate was by all accounts a success. Representatives from
the three main political parties in Sierra Leone were in
attendance to present various aspects of their party
manifestos to the delegates. The most pertinent issue,
unsurprisingly was Energy and the lack of consistent
electricity. Over 250 questions were submitted, from Sierra
Leone, Canada to Australia.
For more information, please visit:
www.slelectionsdebate.co.uk
________________________________________________________________________
May 11th
2007
6.30pm (Film
starts 7.00pm )
AFFORD,
31-33 Bondway, Vauxhall SW8 1SJ
The
compelling 30 minutes documentary, ‘A
Homecoming for Jobs in Africa’
told the powerful story of the SEEDA (Supporting
Entrepreneurs and Enterprise Development in Africa)
Programme.
Members of the Sierrra Leonean Diaspora and Friends came to
see how Sierra Leonean entrepreneurs are given a “handup”
(not handouts) from Africans in the Diaspora; working with
them as business advisors, friends, & mentors.
The session was a great opportunity to share experiences
and advice on how best to support entrepreneurs and
potential investors in Sierra Leone.
For
more information on investing in Sierra Leone, please
contact:
Georgina Awoonor-Gordon
Acting Programmes Manager, SLDN
info@sldn.org.uk
/ 020
8291 3627 / 07956 560 785
For
information on the SEEDA Programme and to request a copy of
the DVD, please contact:
Onyekachi
Wambu, AFFORD, onyekachi@afford-uk.org / 020 7587
3905
________________________________________________________________________
SLDN
organised two viewings of the DFID – GoSL DVD,
Sierra Leone: Back in Business,
in Kennington and at Chatham House
_______________________________________________________________________
28th
April 2005
SLDN
Official Launch
Chatham
House
10
St James's Square
London
SW1Y 4LE
4pm
_______________________________________________________________________
