An organization, Rediscover Liberia, founded by Sarah Evans, has launched a new film, “Women of Liberia: the Message of Hope”. The film was launched last week at the Boulevard Palace Hotel in Monrovia.
The launching of the film was attended by a host of dignitaries, including Vice President, Chief Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor, Grand Bassa Senator, Nyonblee Karngar-Lawrence, Minister of Information, Ledgerhood Rennie, and a host of other dignitaries and guests. The production of the film is being sponsored, in part, by Orange Liberia.
Vice President Taylor, who served as chief launcher for the film, said that it provided a unique opportunity to highlight the challenges, aspirations and hopes of Liberian women. “This story talks about Liberian women and what we have gone through in the past 15-plus years,” said Vice President Taylor. She elaborated that the film would “shock you when you realize that there are many women at various levels in the rural area who are dealing with some of the things we deal with here in the capital city, but remain as brilliant, determined, innovative and resourceful as any woman in our nation.” She said that the film would serve as an inspiration not just for Liberian women, but women around the globe.
Evans expressed delight that the film was being launched at this time in Liberian history. She said that her goal was to work with partners in Liberia to redefine and rebrand the nation. She observed that, unfortunately, a quick internet search for Liberia would return mostly negative stories of war or Ebola and ignore the fact that Liberia had so much more to offer. She stated that one of the ways to begin to change the negative views and stereotypes was by producing and releasing positive films and other media. “There are powerful and positive stories about Liberian women that need to be told nationally and internationally,” said Evans.
Both the Minister of Information and Orange Liberia praised the goals and objectives of the film, stating that it was a step in the right direction. Speaking on behalf of Orange Liberia, Noosevett Weah said that Orange’s support for the film was part of the company’s long-standing commitment to promoting women empowerment. She highlighted that, in addition to its internal policy on gender equality, Orange Liberia and its recently launched Orange Foundation was supporting several projects to promote women’s access to digital communication. She highlighted a digital center opened in Bong County in partnership with UNFPA and Peace Hut as well as a new partnership with GIZ, which would open several digital centers across the country.
For his part, Information Minister Ledgerhood Rennie emphasized the need to develop more projects like the film that would focus on rebranding Liberia. He admitted that it would take lots of resources and energy to properly rebrand Liberia, but noted that the dividends would be worth the investment as the image of a positive Liberia would bring more tourists and investments. He thanked Evans and her team at Rediscover Liberia for what he referred to as a laudable step to promote a positive Liberian image. “Sarah, only God can repay you. You are helping Liberia to go in the right direction,” Minister Rennie concluded.
The film will be fully completed in the coming weeks and will be distributed widely across Liberia and the rest of the world.