Simon explained that Hull is UK’s City of Culture 2017 and the cultural programme, adding that the year celebrates the unique character of the city, its people, history and geography, as a result of the long standing relationship between the two cities that is worthy of celebration.
Hill ascertained that freedom is very essential for the growth of both cities and as a result, a delegation from the British Council and the Freetown City Council went to Hull City in United Kingdom to witness the Freedom Festival/Season.
Simon Hills said Freedom of Expression and the need for freedom from modern day slavery and support for human rights, the celebration aims to galvanize communities in both cities stimulating growth and skills in the creative industries, strengthening existing educational links and fostering new opportunities, adding that freedom is synonymous with both cities.
British Council’s Programme Manager, Michael Dennis explained about the different activities packaged in the forthcoming celebrations.
Michael said the activities comprises Hull-Freetown Retrospective which consist of a multi media exhibition at the event and activities in the twinned cities, the River of the World is another activity in the celebration and it assemble young people from Freetown and Hull to engage in creative large scale art work created by themselves, in order to increased their understanding of their river system.
Michael emphasized that in order to ensure effective participation they have selected three schools from the east of Freetown (Philomath Academy, National Academy and Family Foundation) and three schools from the west of Freetown (Albert Academy, Freetown Secondary School for Girl and Vine Memorial Secondary School).
British Council Project Manager, Hawa Jane Bangura admonished young people in the creative industries must grab the opportunity packaged in the weeklong events and activities Hull-Freetown 2017 ‘Freedom Week’.
She emphasized that young people must identify their inalienable talents, exploring opportunities to improve their God given talents. Owing to that Jane advised young people to utilize the opportunity available in the Hull- Freetown almost 40 years relationship.
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire England, It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber estuary, 25 miles (40 km) inland from the North Sea with a population of 260,200 (mid-2016 est.).
The town of Hull was founded late in the 12th century. The monks of Meaux Abbey needed a port where the wool from their estates could be exported. They chose a place at the confluence of the rivers Hull and Humber to build a quay.
The exact year the town was founded is not known but it was first mentioned in 1193.Renamed Kings-town upon Hull by King Edward I in 1299, Hull has been am market town, military supply port, trading hub, fishing and whaling centre and industrial metropolis.
Hull was an early theatre of battle in the English Civil Wars. Its 18th century Member of Parliament, William Wilberforce, took a prominent part in the abolition of the slave trade in Britain.
The city is unique in the UK in having had a municipally owned telephone system from 1902, sporting cream, not red, telephone boxes.
The University of Hull was founded in 1927 and now enrolls more than 16,000 students. It is ranked among the best in the Yorkshire and the Humber region and located in the leafy Newland suburb, in the north-west of the city.
In 2013, it was announced that Hull would be the 2017 UK City of Culture. In 2015 it was announced that the Ferens Art Gallery will be hosting the prestigious annual art prize, the Turner Prize, in 2017. The prize is held outside London every other year.
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone’s major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political centre. The city proper had a population of 1,055,964 at the 2015 census.
The city’s economy revolves largely around its harbour, which occupies a part of the estuary of the Sierra Leone River in one of the world’s largest natural deep water harbours.
The population of Freetown is ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse. The city is home to a significant population of virtually all of Sierra Leone’s ethnic groups, with no single ethnic group forming a majority of the city’s population. As in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language is Freetown’s primary language of communication and is by far the most widely spoken language in the city.
The city of Freetown was founded on March 11, 1792 by Lieutenant John Clarkson and African American ex-slaves and free people called the Nova Scotian Settlers, who were transported to Sierra Leone by the Sierra Leone Company in 1792. The city of Freetown was a haven for free-born and freed African American, Liberated African and Caribbean settlers; and their descendants are known as the Creole people. Freetown is the oldest capital to be founded by African Americans, having been founded thirty years before Monrovia, Liberia and is noted for its unique Creole architecture reflecting American and Caribbean influences.
The Western Urban Area District is locally governed by the Freetown City Council, headed by a mayor who is elected at-large. Members of the Freetown City Council and the mayor are elected every four years. The current mayor of Freetown is Franklyn Bode Gibson, of the APC, who was elected mayor with 68.25% of the votes, in the 2012 Freetown mayoral election. The city of Freetown is divided into three municipal regions; the East End, Central, and the West End, which in turns are divided into 8 electoral wards: East I, East II, East II, Central I, Central II, West I, West II, and West III. The East End is both the most populous, and the most densely populous of the three regions within Freetown. The East End is home to the country’s harbour.
Central Freetown is home to the State House (the workplace and official residence of the president of Sierra Leone). Central Freetown is also home to the Sierra Leone House of Parliament, the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone, the National Stadium, the Bank of Sierra Leone, and the historic Cotton Tree.
The West of Freetown is the least populous of the three regions within Freetown. The West End is home to the country’s Lumley Beach, Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa.
