By Sulaiman Jalloh

First Lady of Sierra Leone, Madam Fatima Maada Bio, on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, launched the Salone Bloggers Association (SAB) and urged its members to be apolitical in their publications and statements on the digital space.

Dr. Fatima Bio recognised the impact social media has created in advancing the country’s democratic space.

In his opening statement, Prof. Ezekiel Duramny Lakkoh, chairman of the program, noted that everyone can be a blogger while encouraging SAB members to be focused despite challenges they faced. “Lack of knowledge can propel everything,” he stated.

The digital space serves as a powerful tool for communication, awareness and mobilization by sharing amplifying voices that can advocate for change and raised awareness on Sexual Gender Base violence.

In her keynote address, the First Lady used her voice to call on stakeholders to support the association while calling on bloggers to be honest, truthful, nonpartisan, adhere to established national laws to prevent them from getting into unfortunate situations. She underscored what society expect from SAB while emphasizing the importance of blogging devoid of cyber bullying and to help the wider population change perceptions in making informed decisions.

According to her, the launching serves as a pivotal role to enhancing responsible blogging to advancing the democratic space of Sierra Leone. “While digital platforms have given women a voice to share their stories inspire others and advocate for gender equality, they have also been spacing for violence and harassment. Women bloggers faced disproportionate levels of cyber bullying and intimidation hindering their contributions to public discourse” First Lady Bio underscored, noting the reality cultural expectations are high from the association.

Else Mortier, team leader, governance – European Delegation to Sierra Leone, spoke on behalf of development partners. She said the European Union has long since recognised the development of an open and inclusive digital landscape across the world and that bloggers and digital influencers have contributed immensely to tech democratic governance and promoting transparency and hold duty bearers accountable. “The establishment of Salone Bloggers of Association makes an important step in strengthening Sierra Leone’s media and digital ecosystem by organising and uniting, you create a platform for professional blogs, ethical standards, and collaboration, ensuring your voices are not just heard but respected and trusted” she remarked.

Giving the overview of the program, Inj. Joseph Sannoh who championed the formation of the association, highlighted the importance of blogging in the country and beyond, noting bloggers provide first-hand information to the public without being recognised. He said with the formation of bloggers association, they register, unite, license, train and discipline the bloggers to ensure that they are capacitated, noting they have already set a five-year strategy for bloggers. “We will maintain professional blogging l” he remarked, adding “This is not for a political party”

Also speaking was Umaru Junisa fondly called Political Mufti, who shared the real-life challenges of bloggers in Sierra Leone, he said bloggers break the new but yet they can’t break through to better lives, noting they cover the vents but they have not been recognised and their struggles remains in the dark whirl calling on society to understand that bloggers are not just story tellers hence the need to support to them.

Other speakers include, the Anti-Corruption Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala, civil society representative, the entertainment Ambassador Kap Denero. They all urged SAB members to be professionals and to adhere to the cyber laws of the country.