AYV News, July 9, 2024
The President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, is set to depart Sierra Leone for Lagos, Nigeria, where he will participate in the 2nd Regional Conference on Countering Information Manipulation and Hate Speech in West Africa, a statement from the association’s secretariat notes.
The conference, scheduled from July 9 to 11, 2024, is organised by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), with funding support from Global Affairs Canada.
This significant event will bring together stakeholders from civil society, the media, and state institutions across Central and West Africa. The goal is to share achievements, case studies, and strategies for combating misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech, thereby fostering regional cooperation and knowledge exchange.
Nasralla is expected to present Sierra Leone’s efforts and experiences in addressing misinformation and disinformation during the June 2023 elections. He will be accompanied by Mabinty Magdalene Kamara, a fact-checker for the SLAJ SuperNewsRoom. Supported by NDI, the SuperNewsRoom initiative aims to counter misinformation before, during, and after elections. Kamara is also the Editor of Politico Newspaper and Vice President of Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL).
Expressing his enthusiasm for the upcoming conference, Nasralla stated, “I am excited to attend this 2nd Regional Conference and look forward to sharing our experiences. The existential threat of dis/misinformation and hate speech undermines democracy, peace, and stability in our region, and we need collaborative efforts to address it.”
The conference will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops and networking sessions. It will provide a platform for participants to engage in interactive discussions, share case studies and learn from experts actively working to combat disinformation and hate speech in the region.
The event’s hybrid format, allowing for both physical and online attendance, ensures a wide range of participants can contribute to the discussions. Additionally, a pre-conference survey has been conducted to gather insights and perspectives from a broader audience.
