Minister of Information and Civic Education Mr. Chernor Bah will be a special guest at the prestigious Notre Dame University in Indiana in the United States of America on Tuesday, September 24th, to deliver a 90-minute talk on cultivating the culture of peace. Mr. Bah, an illustrious alumnus of Notre Dame where he did his Master in International Peace Studies will have the special honour of giving a public lecture at the Hesburgh Auditorium Center for International Studies and also receive the Notre Dame 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award- bestowed by the university every year on one of its most successful alum. Organized by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies to mark International Day of Peace (an annual event organized by the Institute since 1981), the Honorable Chernor Bah was selected specifically for this year’s public talk because of his excellence in his various fields of endeavor.

The theme for Mr. Chernor Bah’s lecture is ‘Intentional National Consciousness as Critical Tool for Long Ter
m Peacebuilding – A Sierra Leone Case Study,’ and the Honourable Minister will deep dive into his personal experience on his home country’s winding route to peace and national cohesion whilst building a national consciousness. Chernor Bah is also expected to draw from the experiences and strategies of other countries like Rwanda, Germany, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, and the United States, for the formulation of Sierra Leone’s national consciousness through national dialogue, civic education reform, cultural revitalization, inclusive governance, youth engagement, and international collaboration.

Given his vantage position as Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Civic Education, Mr. Bah is best suited to delve into the topic of his lecture, as he lived through the country’s 11 years of civil war, became a civil society activist, and advanced his education in International Peace Studies. He is uniquely positioned to elaborate on his vast experience as a living testimony of war and a global peace advoc
ate. He will discuss how national consciousness, the shared sense of identity among citizens, is essential for uniting a diverse nation like Sierra Leone. By examining the historical challenges stemming from colonial legacies, which fragment our national identity and contribute to social and political instability, this lecture will explore the crucial role of constructing and socializing an intentional national consciousness in long-term peace-building for Sierra Leone. In his lecture, Minister Bah will demonstrate how reconstructing these narratives purposefully and how citizens’ voices are critical to building a cohesive and peaceful society.

Source: Sierra Leone News Agency