By Kemo Cham
Organizers of the Fifty Most Influential Sierra Leonean Women Award have announced the conclusion of nomination process, one month ahead of the awards ceremony.
The Fifty Most Influential Sierra Leonean Women Award is an initiative of twenty-two youth and women-led organizations, led by the Kids Advocacy Network (KAN), to spotlight and recognize the important role women play towards national development in Sierra Leone. It is also designed to honor and celebrate these women and institutions that are contributing towards nation building.
The award recipients represent the most influential women in business, government, law, education, local NGOs, and entertainment, etc.
The awards Committee in a statement on Friday said they received 823 nominations. One Hundred nominees will be shortlisted for public voting and the public will elect the fifty most influential women among them. The winners will be unveiled at a ceremony slated for 28th March 2020 at the Bintumani Conference Centre at Bintumani Hotel in Aberdeen, Freetown.
Former Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has been named as the keynote speaker of the event.
The nomination process started December 31, 2019.
The Committee’s Chairman, Edmond Alim B. Fornah, Executive Director of KiAN, said they were now working through the list of “high quality” nominees to come up with a shortlist of 100 women.
“The One hundred women who will be shortlisted for public voting have demonstrated their passion towards building a better Sierra Leone or are using their influence to inspire other women to contribute towards socio economic development,” said Mr. Fornah.
He said the committee would announce their names and voting code at an Official Launching of the Public Voting Process and Inspirational Forum for Women and Girls on February 8, 2020 at Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel, Freetown.
The ceremony will be hosted under the patronage of Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Manti Tarawalli.
According to Fornah, as part of the agenda for the ceremony, they planned to bring together over 500 university students, government officials, civil society organizations, and members of the private sector to participate in a panel discussion on barriers that prevent women’s empowerment in the country.
The KAN Executive Director extended the committee’s thanks and appreciation to the public for participating in the nomination process.
This is the 3rd edition of the annual event that started in 2017. It wasn’t organized in 2018 due to the electioneering process that year.
Past winners include First Lady Fatima Bio, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources. Emma Kowa and Foreign Affairs Minister, Nabeela Tunis.
All three women are among the nominees for the 2020 edition.
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