Ambassador Perry's Speeches

Remarks for Ambassador June Carter Perry
American Shelf Program at Fourah Bay College
Wednesday, November 21, 2007, 12:00 PM

Dr. Redwood-Sawyerr, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Fourah Bay College
Mr. Oliver Harding, Head Librarian, Fourah Bay College Library
Distinguished Students
Ladies and gentlemen

I am always pleased to be at a university and in a library, as I was a lecturer at the University of Maryland in College Park as well as at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro.  So I know what it’s like to be in an academic setting.

It gives me great pleasure to launch this American Shelf Program today at the Fourah Bay College Library.  Sierra Leone has a great many libraries throughout the country, and this one, at the oldest University in sub-Saharan Africa, is a symbol of the tradition of education in this country.  I also had the pleasure to meet several professors in the United States who came from Sierra Leone, and completed their early education in this country.

As Sierra Leone enters a new era of democracy, the country counts on its next generation to carry out true education, economic reform, and anti-corruption policies.  Such policies are critical to your country’s future as a democracy that treats all members of society equitably. 

Anti-corruption also opens your country and your future to investment from around the world.  The United States wishes to encourage American businesses and universities to Sierra Leone and to be able to guarantee that both educational institutions and businesses can work in a country that practices transparency and fully supports equal access to land and credit for women.

Women make up over fifty percent of the population all over the world, and we want to ensure that women in Africa, women in the Americas, women in Asia, and women everywhere have access to land and credit.  Part of the process of getting to that point is to ensure equal education for women.

American libraries have a long tradition in many countries all over the world, and we are excited to be extending that tradition here.  Some of the senior members of the staff might remember the days of our United States Information Service library, and enjoyed the times you spent there.  I hope you will enjoy time here as well.  Personally, I especially enjoyed exploring our libraries in Lusaka, Zambia and in Paris, France, where newspapers such as the Herald Tribune brought us all the latest on American politics – including our disagreements with European policies.  We do believe in free press, as you might have noticed.  I know that you have a very free press here and I am often impressed by the diversity of views expressed in that press.

Access to information for all citizens is a basic right in a democracy, and freedom of information is something the United States is proud to support and we are happy to hear many radio stations – again, this is many different voices.

This is a continuation of the partnership between the US Embassy & Sierra Leone Library Board that began with the American Corner in Bo and which we hope will flourish in the future.  We hope that we will have an American Corner for this site, but for now we are pleased to be opening this shelf.

The books that we have brought today include reference materials as well as fiction – we don’t want you to be bored -- so there should be something here for everyone.  We encourage the students and faculty to use this material both in their studies and for pleasure.

We look forward to collaborating with the Fourah Bay College Library and with the University of Sierra Leone in general on many cultural and educational programs. 
Permit me to offer thanks to the University and the Library staff for your support to all the officials of the University throughout the establishment of this American Shelf.

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