Greetings to you and yours!

This month all roads lead to Hotel Kimbima for the big International Investment Conference in Sierra Leone. The Commonwealth Business Council(CBC) and Africa Recruit who are spearheading this conference have done well to attract potential investors across various industries the world over. VSL has been proudly helping some of our distinguished guests to make their Hotel Reservations and plan their trip.

This is a great opportunity for Sierra Leone through its Government and various Private Enterprise to prove that once again this beautiful country with HUGE potential is truly open for business! We are hoping for strategic partnerships to be formed between local companies and foreign companies in various industries in particular "sleeping" industries such as fisheries and tourism.

For more information please see these links:
http://www.cbcglobelink.org/cbcglobelink/events/Sierra%20Leone/index.htm
http://www.africarecruit.com/sierra/theforum.htm

VSL will give feedback but also check out the blog (http://blogs.visitsierraleone.org) for a personal perspective.

Bimbola

Hotel Reservations - Travel made simple..

If you are planning a trip to Sierra Leone you can place a reservation with a selection of hotels via VSL and we'll help you plan your trip. No need to burn up your bill placing international phone calls to get accommodation. Let us do the leg work for you. http://www.visitsierraleone.org/featured_hotels.asp

Check Out...

Follow the path of the Queen's Baton through Sierra Leone as part of the Commonwealth Games. Nice Pictures. http://qbr.melbourne2006.com.au/?s=qbrphotogallerydisplay&gid=18

Guest Articles

This month's contribution comes from a young Sierra Leonean filmmaker who made 2 short films in Sierra Leone in the last year. The movies are well made with topical themes.

However, I must warn you that they are huge files and do not attempt to download on a dialup connection unless you have a few weeks of free time :)

Click on the movie links and wait for the movie to download - they will play automatically.. Do not click on the link at the bottom to download the file. Oh and also, I was able to watch the film successfully and so too other members of the forum.. but should any unforeseen mishap strike your PC, I cannot be held responsible. In other words, view at your own risk.

In his own words:

The First - 'dis na mi padi Abi' (My mate Abi)

This documentary traces Abigail Goater on her first visit to Sierra Leone – West Africa. Following her visit to a childhood friend – Feimatta – the film offers a brief introduction to Sierra Leone's contemporary culture and recent history. Guided by Feimatta, we follow Abi's perspective as she encounters and interacts with native languages, customs and foods. Employing a local point of view, a 'native narrator,' comments on the protagonists' relationship – between themselves and with the country. The film reveals and simultaneously suggests reasons for the differences and similarities between Britain and her former colony, the first and third worlds, through the conduit of Abi and Fei.

See the movie here:
http://www.beam.tv/view.php/dis_na_mi_padi_abi.mov?qrHPTymSwD

The second "Diamonds on the Soles":

'Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes' is a documentary tracing the route of an uncut diamond. Through following and filming a small part of the journey a gemstone takes, from extraction to its export to European cutting houses, I am drawing attention to an important economic issue in addition to revealing a way of life that is rarely documented. This film visually depicts the links along the chain a gem takes before it is cut into a diamond.

See the movie here:
http://www.beam.tv/view.php/DOTSOHS.mov?vxrSJxncsJ

Thanks Peter!

If you wish to make a contribution please send your articles to:
newsletter@visitsierraleone.org

Free Stuff

Click here to get a free desktop background of Loma Mountains in the North! Register for a free account to get access to more Desktop Backgrounds and Screensavers

Check Out...

The Devil That Danced on the Water: A Daughter's Quest by Aminatta Forna Review from Publishers Weekly: Forna saw her father for the last time on July 30, 1974; she was 10 years old. In this harrowing memoir-cum-detective story, journalist Forna searches for the truth about her father's execution in Sierra Leone after his treason conviction for allegedly attempting a coup upon the government in which he had once been a cabinet minister. Average Customer Review: based on 8 reviews. More books on Sierra Leone from Amazon