December 21, 2017 By Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
Dr. Alhaji N’jai, founder and Chief Strategist of Project 1808, has disclosed that his organisation would host the third Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) festival in January 2018 in Kabala and Wellington, in the northern region and Western Urban Area respectively.
He said the Kabala event is slated for January 4 to 6 while the one in Wellington would take place between January 12 and 13, noting that the theme would be “Building Next Generation African Scientist, Innovators and Leaders.”
“The festival will move to Freetown for the first time since it was launched in Kabala three years ago to promote science and leadership among young people,” he said.
Dr. Njai added that the event in both Kabala and Freetown would feature activities and curriculum written by Project 1808 global and local volunteers in partnership with students and faculty members from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
He disclosed that a team of volunteers are expected to attend from Sierra Leone, the United States and other parts of the world.
“In 2017, over 500 students and community members attended the festival in Kabala, where they observed, experimented and explored the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, through hands on experiment and demonstrations,” he said.
Programme Director of Project 1808, Dr .Linda Vakunta, expressed that the festival would be critical for solving basic challenges in society.
She stated that science could enhance ability to solve problems and evaluate evidence linked to academic success.
“Organising and implementing the science and leadership festival for the third time in a row has been rewarding, inspiring and revolutionary, allowing students to use practical ways to understand and test our concepts within their own environment,” she said.
Dr. Vakunta said leadership was significant in all aspects of life and that successful leaders are known to display key characteristics of servant leaders, listening, empathy, healing and awareness, among others.
Project 1808 is a nonprofit-making organisation based in Madison, USA, which has been involved in youth capacity building and community development in Sierra Leone through a community-school-university partnership model.