Paris, France, 29th October 2025– Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Civic Education, Hon. Chernor Bah, has spotlighted President Julius Maada Bio’s bold media reforms on the global stage, joining world leaders at the International Conference on Information Integrity and Independent Media held in Paris.
The high-level event, co-convened by French President Emmanuel Macron and former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, brought together heads of state, ministers, and international partners to strengthen global cooperation against disinformation and promote responsible, independent journalism.
Minister Bah shared the platform with President Macron, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania, President Maia Sandu of Moldova, and other dignitaries. He was accompanied by Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to France, Mohamed Kanja Sesay.
Representing President Bio, Minister Bah highlighted Sierra Leone’s landmark achievements in media freedom and information governance. “Under President Bio’s leadership, we have decriminalized criminal libel, adopted a progressive National Information Policy, and are finalizing a Data Protection law,” Bah said. “We’ve also established a National Fund for Public Interest Media a pioneering model that brings together government, development partners, and the private sector to support independent journalism.”
He emphasized that these reforms reflect President Bio’s belief that democracy thrives when citizens are well-informed and the media operates freely and responsibly.
The Paris forum saw renewed commitments from global leaders to defend information integrity and counter the growing threat of misinformation in the digital age. Minister Bah reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s leadership as current Chair of ECOWAS, advocating for a regional culture of transparency and public interest media.
“We must build deeper global partnerships to ensure that access to free, factual, and reliable information remains a universal public good,” Bah urged. “This is the foundation of democratic governance and public trust.”
The conference concluded with a unified call to action: to protect the integrity of information, empower ethical journalism, and uphold the right of citizens everywhere to be informed
