By Amin Kef Sesay
On the 9th May 2021 when Europe Day was celebrated in order to celebrate peace and unity in Europe after the Second World War the Head of the European Delegation to Sierra Leone, Tom Vens, delivered a statement to mark the day.
He stated that as we celebrate Europe Day, it is good all remind themselves why the EU exists underscoring that the Schuman declaration was signed on the 9th of May 1950.
Tom Vens intimated that in the immediate aftermath of the second world war, it laid the foundations for today’s EU.
“Let us never forget: at its core, the EU is a peace project,” he highlighted furthering how the world may have fundamentally changed in the 71 years since the signing of the Declaration, but the desire for peace as the underlying driver for what they do and aspire for, remains the same, be it back at home or through our partnerships.
He said because of COVID, they are celebrating differently this year. “COVID continues to have a devastating impact on so many people across the globe and calls for all of us to remain vigilant, act responsibly and be ambassadors for global solidarity and action,” he averred adding how he does not want to miss the opportunity to appreciate the remarkable efforts by his team and many partners to mobilize significant resources in the fight against COVID-19 in Sierra Leone under the umbrella of Team Europe.
The Head of EU Delegation stated how this year they are also celebrating differently because they wanted to bring the EU closer to the people with this year’s Europe Week events.
He said in the past week, the colourful bus that many saw at the entrance brought #TheEUandMe roadshow and photo exhibition to communities across the country, to listen, to engage, to gather ideas and to show their partnership in action.
Tom Vens said from their support to education, over adding value in agriculture, to empowering women and young people, building quality infrastructure, supporting local governance and building stronger, accountable institutions they are proud of what they do, what they have done and what they will continue to do as a dependable partner for the people of Sierra Leone.
“Our future in Sierra Leone will, in part, also be shaped by today’s global challenges, with climate change and environmental protection at the top of the agenda,” he stated adding how their partnership will therefore also translate in a Green Deal for Sierra Leone, aimed to drastically beefing up their efforts to protect the environment, promote the use of renewable energy and support sustainable food systems.
He said more than ever, they will do that hand in hand with their EU partners: in complementarity with their EU Member States and in close cooperation with other EU actors on the ground.
“This is what Team Europe is about,” he proudly asserted.
He continued that secondly they will continue to invest in education stating that without a better educated population across the board, development will be patchy at best.
“We want to continue contributing to the Government’s top priority of providing quality education and preparing youth with the right set of skills that a strong economy needs, he said optimistically saying it is a longer-term journey and they will continue to be partners in this journey.
Tom Vens said finally it is about governance as they are witnessing a global trend where democracies are eroding and where accountability is under threat.
“None of you here present need convincing that this is a recipe for instability and we will continue to work closely with all of you in this journey for more just societies,” he assured.
Head of Delegation stated that it is the substance of what they want to focus on in the coming years and he is very pleased that through consultations over the past months, they received a strong confirmation that these are indeed the right priorities for their future partnership.
“Our commitment to continue supporting the country’s Development Agenda and, more broadly, the SDGs, will be matched by an ambitious set of resources,” he said.
He stated that their ambition is also to rebalance their partnership which means agreeing on a shared political and policy agenda and reinforcing accountability in delivering against this agenda.
“When we pursue stability and prosperity, this not only serves Sierra Leone’s interests, but also the EU’s interests,” he pointed out.
He said the plight of youth, women and girls will be central to all of this, as will their efforts to promote more space for a strong private sector to assume a pivotal role in Sierra Leone’s development and in the EU’s partnership with Sierra Leone.
According to him that does not just require for the right instruments to be available, but also the creation of a predictable environment and a level playing field that inspires confidence to investors and that allows for a longer-term horizon.
“This will not just promote sustainable growth with attention for the environment, but also the creation of decent jobs and in doing so a future for a growing number of youth,” he said maintaining that it is beyond any State institution to directly tackle youth unemployment as that can only be when the conditions are in place for durable investment by the private sector.
Climaxing the celebration the European Union Ambassadors concluded Europe Week 2021 with #TheEUandMeRoadShow visit to the Peninsula Secondary and Methodist Girls High Schools.
The EU Ambassador, Tom Vens, was accompanied by the Irish Ambassador, Lesley Ní Bhriain, the German Ambassador Horst Gruner and the French Chargé d’Affaires Romain Vuillaume bringing the Europe Week Sierra Leone 2021 to a grand finale on the 10th May.
It must be noted that in 2019, the Peninsula School’s work to educate its pupils about the environment helped them win an EU art competition intended to increase understanding of the effects of climate change whereas the Methodist Girls High School’s history of promoting access for girls to secondary education reflects the EU’s firm belief in gender equality.
Tom Vens kicked off the engagement with the pupils by talking about the origins and purpose of Europe Week and Europe Day. “Europe Day is recognized every year on May 9th and is a day to celebrate peace and unity in Europe, after the Second World War,” he said.
“The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration, where at a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister at the time, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable.”
He explained what had been the purpose of the #TheEUandMeRoadShow which took place from 3 to May 2021 across Sierra Leone: to take messages about the EU’s values and development cooperation with Sierra Leone to a wider audience and to allow the EU to capture feedback from those who have really experienced the positive impact of the projects they support.
At both schools, a discussion followed on: “The Role of Young People in the EU Partnership.”
The diplomatic visitors listened to the pupils talk about their personal and professional ambitions and about the form they believe future cooperation with Sierra Leone should take.
Pupils in particular cited agriculture and health as priority sectors for cooperation with the EU and expressed the wish that Sierra Leone would be a flagship of development in 20 years’ time.
