SLIGF2022

Saturday, 25th June 2022

Good Day members. On Wednesday 22nd June 2022 in Bo City ISOC-SL hosted the 2022 Sierra Leone Internet Governance forum. Despite the challenges of it being the first SLIGF to be hosted in the Provinces, it was highly successful. 

The forum was well attended by lecturers and students from Njala University, Canadian University of Technology and Eastern Technical University (Kenema). 

Government, Civil Society Groups and Senior Secondary Pupils from Bo School, CKC and QRS broadened the Multi Stakeholder status of the forum. Our Minister of Information and Communications did accept our invitation but was constrained by the time period. 

We had a full day of dialogue on the Theme: The Internet: an education and national development enabler. Several statements were made by representatives from ISOC, Civil society groups and government. The young people were well attuned to pertinent Internet issues.

The final communiqué which is based on the deliberations and presentations from the breakout session leaders has highlighted some of the key concerns that people have and that these should be communicated firstly to the government of Sierra Leone and onwards to ECOWAS and AU. And for the IGF channels this communiqué would be presented to the WAIGF Secretariat.

The decision to take the SLIGF to the southern part of Sierra Leone was one that was highly welcome by participants. 

We received requests from students of the various universities for an Internet Society chapter to be establish at the various campuses. We have taken this on board and will put it to the membership for consideration.

Once again we would like to thank the IGF global Secretariat, the ISOC-SL Executive, the Ministry of information and communications and most importantly the multi stakeholders of the Internet. Thank you very much. 

Salieu Mansaray 

President ISOC-SL