ALJA Holds National Convention September 29-October 2, 2022

ALJA's President Joe Manson

— Expected to Honor 3 Prominent Liberian Journalists

The Association of Liberian Journalists in America (ALJA) is expected to convene its national convention from September 29- October 2, 2022 in Massachusetts, USA.

The convention will bring together members of the Association as well as some prominent Liberian citizens.

The Association will honor three prominent Liberian journalists for their work in the media and their pioneering role in the establishment of ALJA. 

At the benefit dinner, veteran journalists Kenneth Y. Best of the Daily Observer, Isaac Bantu, and Gabriel Williams will be honored

According to the organization, prominent human rights lawyer Atty. Samuel Kofi Woods and Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence are expected to address this year’s National Convention of the Association. 

Karnga-Lawrence will address the General Assembly of the Association on Saturday morning, October 1. She will discuss the topic, the “Challenges Facing Women’s Political Participation.” 

Meanwhile, a list of prominent Liberian female politicians are also expected to address the convention’s panel discussion earlier Friday, September 30th.

These include former presidential candidate Macdella Cooper and former Nimba County Superintendent and Senatorial aspirant Edith Gongloe Weh. 

The Association further said the head of the Monrovia-based election integrity organization, Local Voices Liberia, Alpha Daffae Sekpeni, will address the convention on ways that the media and civil society organizations can help to create an environment for free, fair, and transparent elections.

On Friday, the conferees will visit Assumption University, a private Catholic college in Worcester, and tour the Communications and Media Department. There will also be discussions on future partnerships between ALJA and the University.

Woods, who is the guest speaker, will address the Association’s Annual Benefit Banquet on the evening of Saturday, October 1, on the theme, “Sustaining Liberia’s Democracy Now and in the Future: The Media and the 2023 General Elections.”

Woods is a legal consultant at the Liberia Law Society. He had previously served as Minister of Labour and of Public Works under the administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

According to a press release issued by the Association on Monday, September 26, 2022, the ALJA Benefit Dinner is an annual event that mobilizes financial and material support for the Association’s media advocacy, development, and training programs in Liberia.

The program includes the Joe Teh Memorial Scholarship Program, which supports select students at the Department of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Liberia.

Activities for Saturday, October 1st, will include the Association’s general assembly, which will take stock of the Association’s performance during its previous year's review; and a presentation on personal financial management in the United States by Mr. Alex Cuffy, a Managing Consultant at the American financial institution, Alan Bernard International. 

Also on Saturday, there will be a virtual presentation by Katrina Simmons and Mark Olson from the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota, which partners with ALJA.

A thanksgiving service for the ALJA National Leadership and members of the Association will be held at the Christ Jubilee International Fellowship Church on Sunday, September 26th.

ALJA is a conglomeration of current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Association was founded in 1998 to advance press freedom through media capacity building and foster good governance in Liberia through media advocacy.