Sierra Leone: A Bitter Past to a Bright Future? A pre-concert panel discussion

When Wednesday, 23 January 2013, 6.30 – 7.30 pm
Where National Concert Hall, Carolan Room
Admission Free, but please RSVP by contacting [email protected]

Organised by Paul McElhatton, this fascinating panel discussion seeks to expand on the Waltons World Masters – Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars performance by exploring some of the contemporary issues that shape the social and political commentary of their music. The panel brings together a group of journalists, academics, charities and Sierra Leoneans resident in Ireland. These include Bríd Kennedy, Regional Director, Concern Worldwide, who is responsible for Concern’s work in a number of countries, including Sierra Leone, Haiti, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Liberia; former RTÉ journalist Dr Walt Kilroy, who has conducted extensive research on the disarmament of ex-combatants in Sierra Leone and Liberia; Kai Matturi, a Sierra Leonean resident in Ireland who is Chairperson of the Sierra Leone Ireland Partnership and a researcher and development specialist at Concern Worldwide; and Dr Tim Reeves, whose work has focused on the conditions that the International Monetary Fund has imposed on loans to Northern Sierra Leone.