{"id":14400,"date":"2025-06-09T00:01:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T00:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/?p=14400"},"modified":"2025-06-09T00:01:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T00:01:15","slug":"%f0%9d%90%92%f0%9d%90%a2%f0%9d%90%9e%f0%9d%90%ab%f0%9d%90%ab%f0%9d%90%9a-%f0%9d%90%8b%f0%9d%90%9e%f0%9d%90%a8%f0%9d%90%a7%f0%9d%90%9e%f0%9d%90%ac-%f0%9d%90%8f%f0%9d%90%ab%f0%9d%90%9e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/?p=14400","title":{"rendered":"\ud835\udc12\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1a \ud835\udc0b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc1e\u2019\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc0f\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc2d \ud835\udc09\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc0c\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc1a \ud835\udc01\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc28 \ud835\udc02\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc05\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b \ud835\udc00\ud835\udc1f\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc1a \ud835\udc13\ud835\udc28 \ud835\udc13\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc25\ud835\udc25 \ud835\udc08\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc0e\ud835\udc30\ud835\udc27 \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc32"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\ud835\udc0e\ud835\udc31\ud835\udc1f\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1d, \ud835\udc14\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc1d \ud835\udc0a\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc26, \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc32 \ud835\udfd0\ud835\udfd2\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21 \ud835\udc0c\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc32, \ud835\udfd0\ud835\udfce\ud835\udfd0\ud835\udfd3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the prestigious Oxford Africa Conference 2025, held on the eve of Africa Day, Sierra Leone\u2019s President Julius Maada Bio delivered a powerful keynote address calling for Africans to reclaim the narrative about their continent and assert “African Agency” in shaping their own destinies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Speaking under the theme \u201cChanging Narrative: Vision, Action and Transformation of Africa\u201d, President Bio described the persistence of a global narrative shaped by outsiders, one that reduces the continent to a story of \u201cdependency, conflict, and underdevelopment.\u201d He challenged this portrayal, urging African scholars, leaders, and citizens to take control of how Africa is perceived and presented on the world stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor centuries, the narrative of Africa has been shaped by outsiders,\u201d he said. \u201cThese external narratives have influenced global perceptions and, more dangerously, have shaped how we view ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Bio used the term \u201cQuotidian African Agency\u201d to describe the daily efforts of Africans, from farmers and artists to entrepreneurs and students, who are actively transforming their societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted Sierra Leone\u2019s own model of African-led development through its five “Game Changers”: food security (Feed Salone), human capital development, youth employment, technology and infrastructure, and public service reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President also made a strong case for epistemic agency, calling for the decolonisation of knowledge and the elevation of African perspectives in global academic, economic, and governance spheres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfricans must lead knowledge production about Africa,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cBy reclaiming our intellectual sovereignty, we lay the foundation for all other forms of agency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout his speech, President Bio returned to a central message: Africa must speak with one voice, especially on critical issues such as climate change, trade, global governance, and economic justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In urging unity and strategic vision, he reminded the audience of Africa\u2019s historical efforts to assert its dignity and sovereignty, invoking the formation of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfrica is watching. The World is listening. History is waiting,\u201d President Bio concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His remarks received a standing ovation from a distinguished audience that included WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, scholars, and students from the Oxford Africa Society, a group President Bio commended as \u201ca powerful community of change agents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Africa continues to grapple with global inequalities and internal challenges, President Bio\u2019s keynote offered a resonant and urgent call: that Africans must be the primary architects of the Africa they envision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For further information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State House Media and Communications Unit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

info@statehouse.gov.sl<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\ud835\udc0e\ud835\udc31\ud835\udc1f\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1d, \ud835\udc14\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc1d \ud835\udc0a\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc26, \ud835\udc12\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc2b\ud835\udc1d\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc32 \ud835\udfd0\ud835\udfd2\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc21 \ud835\udc0c\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc32, \ud835\udfd0\ud835\udfce\ud835\udfd0\ud835\udfd3 At the prestigious Oxford Africa Conference 2025, held on the eve of Africa Day, Sierra Leone\u2019s President Julius Maada Bio delivered a powerful keynote address calling for Africans to reclaim the narrative about their continent and assert “African Agency” in shaping their own destinies. Speaking under the theme…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14406,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14400\/revisions\/14406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.slhc-uk.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}