By Alpha Good Kamara
Presentation of winning prizes and Certificates of Participation to participants of the ECSL – AYV Elections Cypher Uncensored & Hit the Street 2023 took place on Friday, July 14th, 2023 at the ECSL Headquarters Conference Room on Tower Hill in Freetown.
It could be recalled that the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire, in collaboration with the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), on Thursday 22nd June, 2023 hosted the Grand Finale of the Cypher Uncensored Rap Music Contest Special Edition and AYV Hit the Street Dance Contest as part of their Non-Violence Campaign in which young rappers nationwide participated to promote peace and foster talent development. The grand finale was held at the Sports Zone on Lumley Beach Road in Freetown and was witnessed by many Sierra Leoneans, who from their facial expressions, were thrilled by the masterpiece rap and dance contest during which contestants expressed extraordinary talents.
It was an unprecedented contest that marked a significant milestone in promoting civic engagement and transparency in the electoral process.
In the “Cypher”, 8 rappers contested in the grand finale which includes Tello, Hugo Boss, Nazawise, RTM, OG Too Sweet, CG Mayboy, Breenard and Idea.
After the rap battle between these contestants, Lamin Conteh with stage name Tello bagged the first position and was awarded 30,000 New Leones, Joshua K. Bockarie, with stage name OG 2 Sweet bagged the second position and was awarded 15,000 New Leones and Ishmail B. Kamara with stage name CG MayBoy bagged the third position and was awarded 5,000 New Leones.
For the “Hit the Street” competition 30,000 New Leones was divided between the winners of which Lumley Best Dancers took the first position, RDC Dancers took the second position and B2K dancers took the third position.
The programme was aimed at promoting inclusivity in the electoral processes by promoting citizens’ engagement, enhancing information sharing and information integrity by working with a range of stakeholders, including young people through rap music.
During the presentation ceremony, the Chief Electoral Commissioner of ECSL, Mohamed Konneh, warmly welcomed and congratulated the winners of the Cypher Uncensored & Hit the Street 2023 competition. He emphasized the importance of conducting periodic elections further maintaining that making the processes all inclusive had been a goal that the ECSL has tirelessly pursued. He acknowledged that although there were concerns along the way, the institution worked diligently to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
The Electoral Boss recognized that the success of the electoral process would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders, including Civil Society Organizations and the media. He highlighted the pivotal role played by the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire, saying it had been a partner of ECSL for the past year.
He revealed how he was introduced to the Cypher Uncensored & Hit the Street program by the ECSL’s Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Media. According to him, the program, hosted by AYV, resonated with him as a reggae music lover, leading him to endorse it and integrate it into the electoral activities.
Mohamed Konneh added that the ECSL-AYV Elections Cypher Uncensored & Hit the Street 2023 presentation demonstrated the significance of collaborative initiatives between electoral institutions and media organizations in promoting active citizens’ participation, transparency, and accountability in Sierra Leone’s democratic processes.
“The partnership between ECSL and AYV serves as a positive example for future endeavors aiming to strengthen democratic values and ensure the collective involvement of all Sierra Leoneans in the nation’s electoral affairs,” he averred underscoring that the electoral process is not confined to politicians alone.
He stressed on the involvement of Sierra Leoneans from different sectors who fostered a peaceful nation saying while acknowledging concerns raised by other sectors, he is assuring the public that efforts were made to address issues in order to ensure a transparent electoral process.
AYV;s Chief Operational Officer, Messeh Leone, intimated that as a media house they were not protagonists or antagonists as their role was and continues to be the provision of credible information to the people of Sierra Leone.
He maintained that the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire Elections Cypher Uncensored & Hit the Street 2023 was one of the ways through which they played a great role during the June 24th General Elections as it was used as a platform that provided credible information to the people of Sierra Leone adding that they also created offline and online platform opportunities for all Political Parties as well as working with the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL).
Messeh Leone mentioned how the European Union (EU) and the Independent Media Commission (IMC) commended the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire for the professional coverage of the elections stressing that they gave equal playground to all Political parties.
He congratulated Commissioner Zainab Umu for leading the campaign and advocating for the AYV Elections Cypher Uncensored & Hit the Street 2023 program.
Based on what he said, the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire Elections Cypher Uncensored & Hit the Street 2023 Dance contest was part of their Non-Violence Campaign in the past June 24th General Elections during which young Dancers and Rappers nationwide participated to promote peace through talent development.
Samuel Wise (AYV) congratulated the winners of the Cypher Uncensored & Hit the Street 2023 competition and issued out the Prizes and Certificates of Participation to the winners.
The highpoint of the presentation programme was the expression of gratitude to AYV and ECSL by the winners for giving them an opportunity to display their talents accompanied by a brief performance of rapping and dancing that evoked laughter and fun among the audience.
