By Israel Mohamed Mangoh, Centre Interpreter, African Heritage Leadership Centre
The African Heritage Leadership Centre (AHLEC) is a youth-led institution with sheer recognition for the inherent values of heritage, both tangible and intangible, in the sustainable development of nations. A Centre whose headquarters is hosted in Sierra Leone, a country with an abounding heritage. The centre ardently believes in viable collaboration and partnership to drive home its set agendas and interventions.
Our institution is on a transformational journey to: facilitate an increase in global and cultural competence through education, tourism and innovation; celebrate the centrality of cultures to develop in one space; stimulate the indigenous economy through heritage conservation and sustainable tourism management; ensure youth leadership is central in the cultural restoration, conservation and promotion of Africa’s unique heritage, local and international; started since the official launch of the Centre on the 26th April, 2022.
Ever since, it’s been quite incredible and it is amazing to look back at the efforts and the gains made in quite a short span of time. Summed Musa Kwegoh Sowa the Head of Center (AHLEC).
Prior to the official launch of the Centre on 26th April, 2022, the institution embarked on highlighting the significance of Black History Month in Sierra Leone that same year. Black History Month Celebration has ever since been one of the annual activities the Centre has succeeded in tagging to its usual emblematic programs. Six (6) schools were effectively engaged on the theme of that year’s celebration, while maintaining a thorough background to the Black History Month Celebration, and how it can be celebrated among Africans—- without merely limiting it to the recognition and celebration of Black Americans.
On the remembrance of 27th April, 2022, a day that marks our political independence, the African Heritage Leadership Centre conducted what we titled, “Freedom Historic Freetown Walking Tour.” This activity was collaboratively held with our strategic partner Hello Sierra Leone a tourism and lifestyle company. Hundred (100) pupils across 27 different schools benefited from the tour. The sole aim was to familiarize these pupils with historic landmarks within the city, give them a sense of what richness the city holds as a cultural heritage, and steer within them a sense for domestic tourism. We recognize the critical role sustainable tourism plays in the economy and its defining sense of identity it exudes. As such, the Centre had used the virtual space, particularly the social media, to promote the campaign on heritage and sustainable tourism. AHLEC-SL and Africa-Link-Initiative, an organization based in the USA pulled this campaign for a month.
We, at AHLEC, always volunteer our time and knowledge to support other institutions succeed at common goals. This got us to partner with the Kings of Diaspora Queens Foundation to support primary schools in Banana Island with education materials.
The year was closed in 2022 by conducting a similar Freetown Tour for students across the universities in Sierra Leone.
With renewed fervour in 2023, AHLEC continued to make positive gains. The Black History Month Celebration continued under the theme “Amplification of Black Excellence, Africa and Beyond.” Beyond the usual school tours, the 2023 Black History Month Celebration climaxed with a Public Lecture (hosted at Fourah Bay College) that was well attended by critical stakeholders, including students and pupils.
The Keynote Speaker was an outstanding woman that has distinguished herself, breaking the glass ceiling, Madame Memunatu B. Pratt (the then Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs).In August that same year, the online campaign on heritage and sustainable tourism education spanned.
The platform that occasions a conspicuous and awe display of the cultural richness of Sierra Leone and it diaspora kinfolks is the Black Excellence celebration that is held on the 27th and 28th April of every year. The Black Excellence Celebration 2023 saw a practiced exhibition of the food, music, arts, dance, masquerading traditions, dress and array of other cultural displays that typically define the African Heritage.
The Black History Month Celebration, 2024 has just ended and the global theme “African American and the Arts” was domesticated by the Centre to reflect our realities. As such, the theme, “Culture for Peace Education” was carefully coined. St. Edwards Secondary School, Prince Of Wales School Kingtom, Methodist Girls High School Providence International School, International School Ltd among 10 other schools were visited and benefited from a debate staged to climax the celebration on the 29th February, 2024 at the Africell American Corner in Sierra Leone.
It was such an engaging debate and topics across divergent spectrums were debated in the Karl Popper format of debate. In the end, after those contentious rounds guided by the ethical principles or rules that presuppose a Karl Popper format, the Providence International School emerged as Champions, as they prevailed over the Prince Charles Of Wales School Kingtom in the final.
The Black Excellence Celebration, an event that bustles cultural displays and gives heritainment an unusual feeling of wanting more, is yet to be held and the best expectation is only to stay constant in delivering our heritage mandate says the Curator Francis Musa Momoh when asked about what the schedules for 2024 are.
The Centre is not weary of continuing. We are inspired the more and look forward to more partnership opportunities as we take cultural heritage which is vehicle of tourism promotion to the next height.
