You’re Invited…
The National Museum of African Art
in collaboration with the
Foundation for West Africa and
Search for Common Ground
invite you to a screening of
Leh Wi Tok (Let Us Talk)
followed by a roundtable discussion
April 13, 2011 (tomorrow)
2–5 p.m.
S. Dillon Ripley Center
Lecture Hall
1100 Jefferson Dr., SW
Washington, DC 20560
Can a single voice move people beyond the pain and anger of recent memories? For the people of Sierra Leone, a nation struggling to repair itself after more than a decade of war, the answer comes in the simple Krio phrase leh wi tok (let us talk), also the title of a new documentary film that tells the story of radio pioneer Andrew Kromah and his unrelenting quest to grow an independent network of community-based radio stations in his country so that peace and democracy can flourish. He worked with SFCG in Sierra Leone to accomplish this goal.
Leh Wi Tok weaves together a story of hope and commitment with the transformative power of the radio as it relays how one individual—despite persistent political harassment and substantial financial, technical and geographic challenges—literally puts his life on the line to bring disparate and often unheard voices to the airwaves. More information about the film and SFCG’s involvement in the creation of the radio network can be found here.
A discussion will follow the screening with Topher Hamblett and Ambrose James.
Topher Hamblett is the Founder and President of The Foundation for West Africa, which supports independent radio stations and networks in Sierra Leone and Liberia. He served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone (1985-87), and has served on many non-profit boards, including Rhode Island Public Radio, the International Institute of Rhode Island and Common Cause-RI. He is also Policy Director for Save The Bay in Providence, RI.
Ambrose James is the Sierra Leone Country Director at Search for Common Ground. He has more than nine years of experience developing project management strategies in conflict-sensitive and conflict transformation programming with international non-profit organizations. Mr. James has extensive experience working with and supporting community radio in Sierra Leone. He helped build the capacity of the Independent Radio Network, which is now a cohesive organization with bylaws and is the hub production studio which collects and distributes information around the elections cycle to every region of Sierra Leone. Learn more about our work in Sierra Leone, here.
Comments are closed.