By Foday Moriba Conteh
In a bid to popularize the activities associated with a project titled “The Patriot Campaign” which will be broadcast in series on SLBC TV, the Patriotic Advocacy Network, Sierra Leone (PAN SL) has on Monday 10th August, 2020 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) at a ceremony held at the SLBC Headquarters at New England Ville in Freetown.
Executive Director of Patriotic Advocacy Network, Ansumana Keita expressed appreciation to the Director General of Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), Joseph E. Kapuwa Esq for signing the MOU with their organization, which he described as a laudable venture that will help in spreading out the gospel of the Patriot.
He disclosed that “The PATRIOT” is a youth led campaign through the production of short films, spoken words, poetry, articles, storytelling and drumming that will serve as positive contributions from young people to sensitize and educate the Sierra Leonean public on the importance of patriotism, unity, peace and harmony.
“In order to reject the ills of tribalism and violence the project joined in the fight against COVID-19 with the slogan ‘United We Stand-Beat COVID-19’,” he highlighted.
The Executive Director stated that they intend to sustain this initiative for twelve weeks between June to August during which they will provide a platform for young talents to shoot, edit and present short films addressing issues of peace, violence, unity, tribalism and proffer possible solutions for a better community.
Underscoring the impact of the campaign, he said the fight against COVID-19 has taken another negative turn in the country and the young people have been particularly affected because of a lot of violence triggered by general apathy, misinformation and economic hardship saying it is against such a backdrop that they thought it fit to launch The Patriot in order to diffuse tensions between law enforcement agencies and the youth, in which they aim to engage young people in essential dialogue through using media technologies, oral storytelling and traditional art performances.
Director General of Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), Joseph E. Kapuwa Esq commended PAN-SL for their strides in impacting the spirit of patriotism in the mindsets of Sierra Leoneans across the country.
He said that the Patriot Campaign has created impacts on the lives of Sierra Leoneans, adding that with the signing of the MOU with them he is very sure that they will continue to impact more lives across the country. He assured PAN-SL of his continuous commitment towards the development of young people in the country.
Fatmata Turay, Administrative Secretary of PAN SL, also said that the Patriot Series will now be played/viewed on SLBC TV and that the series were vetted by the SLBC Management and thus, being approved, t is a clear manifestation that the Patriot Campaign is very essential towards the growth of Sierra Leone.
She called on Sierra Leoneans to support their goals set above to empower young future leaders of Sierra Leone through the donation of any amount, share all their activities, challenge 10 or more people to Donate, Endorse The Patriot with A 30sec Video and Take a Photo With #Thepatriot.
