Agenda of the new leadership of Liberian Swedish Assoc.

The new leadership of the Liberian Swedish Association (LSA) has created an agenda which we believe will help us to better serve the LSA community and make meaningful contributions in Liberia, especially to children living in deplorable conditions, writes LSA President David Ford. Item 1. Unite and strengthen the bond between Liberians living in Sweden […]

An overview of elections in Africa this year

Africa is set to host two dozen national elections in 2019. This reflects a now established norm of elections as the recognized means for selecting African leaders. The quality of these elections continues to vary widely, however, with some merely serving as a perfunctory ritual by which leaders maintain their claim on power. Nonetheless, a […]

Full text of President Weah’s annual message

On Monday, January 28, Liberian President George Weah delivered his first annual State of the Nation Addresss in Monrovia, the Liberia capital. Below is the full text: Six days ago, through the Grace of the Almighty God, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) was blessed to celebrate our first anniversary as an incumbent political party. […]

Culture Minister Lind opens Gothenburg Film Festival

On Friday, January 25, Sweden’s Minister for Culture and Democracy Amanda Lind opened the Gothenburg Film Festival: Film-lovers, My name is Amanda Lind and this is my first speech since being appointed Minister for Culture and Democracy last Monday. Thank you for the invitation – I’m very happy to be here in Gothenburg and celebrate […]

Hagen: Africa is important trade partner for Norway

Opening speech delivered by Marianne Hagen, State Secretary at Norway’s Foreign Ministry, at a seminar by Norwegian-African Business Association (NABA) in Oslo, Norway on January 24. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to start by thanking NABA for organising this seminar, and for the close cooperation that we have enjoyed for many years now. […]

Speech: Swedish PM Löfven presents government policy

On Monday, January 21, Sweden’s re-elected Prime Minister Stefan Löfven presented his government’s statement of policy to the Riksdag (Parliament): Mr Speaker, Honourable Members of the Swedish Riksdag, All around Europe, extreme right-wing movements are spreading. In several countries, forces with an antidemocratic agenda have made it all the way to government. But in Sweden […]

Liberian mining agreement: The case of Hummingbird Resources

The National Investment Commission (NIC) has announced that the Liberian government and the Hummingbird Resources Inc have signed a gold-mineral development concession worth over US$ 250 Million. The agreement between the government and Hummingbird was negotiated and signed but very little was known about the contents of these negotiations, and actual terms of the agreements, due to opaque processes, […]

The problem with Liberian public education

There is a popular saying that religion has no place in public schools or any other public sphere. This idea is propagated under the guise of “the separation of church and state.” This false notion has influenced Liberian state education, and it has subjected itself to purge religious literacy out of public school learning curriculum, […]

Six principles of the Liberian constitution

Popular Rule: “We the People…” Our current constitution (1986) begins with the idea of popular rule. This important principle means that power, begins with the people. This principle is best reflected in the Preamble, Article I and Article 5a. Popular rule is the thought that the average citizen can be trusted to make important decisions […]

Norway’s statement at UN Climate Confab in Poland

Mr. President, Heads of States and Governments, Indigenous Peoples delegations, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. The signal given from the IPCC special report on 1,5 degrees is loud and clear: the target is still within reach, but the coming years are critical.  We must increase our ambitions by 2020. If not, the goal of the Paris […]