Afrobeats – Festival Salone December 2011

With the success of London’s Afrobeat festival, Phoenix Media Partners have teamed up with Esquire ENT SL to take the Afrobeats Festival brand on a world tour with the African inaugural show in Freetown, Sierra Leone. With a sell-out crowd of over 6,000 people for London’s Afrobeats Festival in August 2011; the Salone show is poised to follow the trend in making a positive global impact on the development and awareness of different types Afrobeats music. Afrobeats Festival Salone is about celebrating the development of Sierra Leone’s youth in a peaceful, uplifting and euphoric atmosphere.

Afrobeats Festival London highlights:

The aim and concept of Afrobeats Festival Sierra Leone is simple really: get all the hugely popular artists on the same stage with a rooster of fine comedians. As people are having a great time we can use the opportunity to spread a positive message of unity and peaceful co-existence. This message is extremely crucial especially as Sierra Leone enters 2012 our year of elections. No time like the present to start fostering national pride and political tolerance within the group who are usually the canvass for political violence.

To this effect the United Nation Integrated Peace Building office Sierra Leone (UNIPSL) and the Sierra Leone Police Force are on board as supporters of the event, with further support from The Sierra Leone Red Cross Society & Freetown City Council, Salone Jamboree Entertainment, Youth Agencies, International Media Partners & numerous well wishers.

The inaugural Afrobeats Festival London received huge acclaim from the media, and the UK youth community. Up building and unification of the community was at the heart of the event and this is what we will replicate in Sierra Leone. Afrobeats Sierra Leone is the first of the Afrobeats Festival franchise to be held outside the UK. With planned festivals in Gambia, Nigeria and Ghana, Afrobeats Festival is an entity that will continue to showcase the best in African entertainment and culture.

A Music and Comedy show, Afrobeats Festival Salone is an all-round event, which offers a fantastic mix of the best of African music and hilarious comedy.

In 2002, the civil war, which saw over 50,000 people dead and 2 million people displaced, was officially declared over. Since then the country has re-established a functioning democracy and its people working to re-build the nation. With a population of 6 million people and 60% of the population in the youth demography, there has been an emphasis on youth up building, peace and empowerment.

Music has been a common unifying force for Sierra Leones youths. With Sierra Leonean acts such as Famous, Shadybaby, Chubby Asa, Heyden Adama and more plus International acts like Ice Prince, JJC and Waconzy, Afrobeats Festival Salone in partnership with UNIPSL will take place on 3^rd December 2011 at the National Stadium in Freetown Sierra Leone.

Petrol giants Total are also supporting the positive movement, sticking to their ethos of “continually striving to strengthen the positive impact of our presence in host countries”.

Organisers of the Sierra Leone Afrobeats Festival Esquire entertainment Ltd (SL) and Phoenix Media Partners Ltd (UK) are thrilled to be staging the Afrobeats Festival in Sierra Leone; Phoenix Media account director Abi Wilson-Obruche says,

“It’s a wonderful event to organise and one that will hopefully put Sierra Leone on the map for positive news and help in removing the negative stigma attached to young people.”

About Phoenix Media Partners Ltd (UK)

Phoenix Media Partners are the UK’s leading ethnic Media marketing agency specializing in the African and Caribbean market. Specializing in fusing corporate objectives with community interests, Phoenix Media Partners repertoire includes business development, market development, market intelligence, public relations, event management, funding & sponsorship sourcing and management, corporate promotions, Media marketing and direct marketing. www.phoenixmediapartners.co.uk

About Esquire Entertainment:

Esquire Entertainment (SL) Ltd is a company set up to promote entertainment commodities in Sierra Leone. Dedicated to the development of contemporary and relevant productions that speaks to the communities in Sierra Leone Esquire Entertainment has the benefit of working with Best Practice and years of experience. Esquire Entertainment is a company built on integrity, transparency and trust.

Contact:

Ibrahim Yusuf Bangura LL.B (Hons) BL Founder Esquire Entertainment (SL) Ltd 16 Adelaide Street Freetown +232-76-624563

United Nations Integrated Peace Building Office Sierra Leone

The United Nations Integrated Peace building Mission in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) was established by Security Council Resolution (1829) of 4th August 2008. The UN Security Council mandate to UNIPSIL involves both political and development activities which includes the following:

Requests that UNIPSIL focus on and support the Government of Sierra Leone in the following areas:

1. Providing political support to national and local efforts for identifying and resolving tension and threats of potential conflict, whatever the source;

2. Monitoring and promoting human rights, democratic institutions and the rule of law; including efforts to counter transnational organized crime and drug trafficking;

3. Consolidating good governance reforms, with a special focus on anti-corruption instruments such as the Anti-Corruption Commission;

4. Support decentralization, reviewing the 1991 Constitution and the enactment of relevant legislation.

5. Closely coordinating with and supporting the work of the Peace building Commission as well as the implementation of the Peace building Cooperation Framework and projects supported through the Peace building Fund;

Underlines the importance of establishing a fully integrated office with effective coordination of strategy and programmes among the United Nations Agencies, funds and programmes in Sierra Leone, and emphasizes the need for the United Nations system to support and cooperate fully with UNIPSIL, in accordance with the Executive Representative’s function as Resident Representative and Resident Coordinator;
Stresses the need for close cooperation between UNIPSIL, ECOWAS, the Mano River Union, International Partners and other United Nations missions in the region;
Emphasizes the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace building, as recognize in resolution 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008), underlines that a gender perspective should be taken into account in implementing all aspects of the mandate of UNIPSIL, and encourages UNIPSIL to work with the Government of Sierra Leone in this regard.

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