By Banker White | WeOwnTV Executive Director
Thank you so much for your continued support of the filmmakers at the WeOwnTV, Freetown Media Center. Over the past six years we have grown as an organization to be able to support improving the media literacy, civic engagement and digital production skills that facilitate meaningful workforce development in Sierra Leone. Since the Spring of 2014, our philosophy that no one is more qualified to help Sierra Leoneans than Sierra Leoneans themselves took on new resonance as we continued our work in the context of the Ebola crisis.
In June of 2014 we turned our full attention to the unfolding Ebola epidemic. Filmmakers at the WeOwnTV, Freetown Media Center and local media makers from across the sub-region (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) all played a major role in creating life saving educational material and in reporting on the crisis as events unfolded. Through this period our capacity as a media organization has also grown and we are absolutely thrilled to announce the WeOwnTV Story Challenge a new program we recently launched that aims to broaden the reach of our programs and continue building on this recent growth.
"We have been in this together, we have struggled together and we will WRITE OUR HISTORY together." WeOwnTV Manager Arthur Pratt.
Arthur Pratt watching news coverage of the WeOwnTV Story Challenge press conference.
The WeOwnTV Story Challenge is a regional film fund supporting the production of independent documentaries directed by Guinean, Sierra Leonean and Liberian filmmakers. The goal of the challenge is to help amplify and support important voices within the West African indigenous media sector. We are looking to award a diverse group of filmmakers and encouraging applications female directors, and filmmakers from both rural and urban settings.
CAMPAIGN MISSION
The WeOwnTV Story Challenge award will provide selected filmmakers with cash assistance, professional mentoring and distribution opportunities, while also promoting important ideas and perspectives that support the political right to free speech, and reinforce a culture of creativity and intellectual freedom.
Isata Kabia in production in Kenema, Sierra Leone.
Here are a few things you can do to help support this new initiative.
Help us reach our fundraising goal by sharing our GlobalGiving campaign with others and by considering an additional donation using the link 'GIVE NOW" link provided below.
SHARE this opportunity with your network to help spread the word.
You can use our photos, radio ads and videos to share this contest with your network! Download everything you need from our media kit here.
Suggested tweet: Calling all filmmakers from #Guinea #SierraLeone #Liberia Apply here to get your film idea funded! weowntv.org/contest
With Gratitude,
Banker White
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