At the UNIDO-run Growth Centre in Binkolo a solar-powered television is screening the news from the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation. It's an eagerly-anticipated daily routine for about 70 young people who come to the Centre to watch both educational and entertainment programmes.

In January 2010 Sierra Leone became only the second country in Africa where a public broadcasting system has been set up. With the support of United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Mission in Sierra Leone and UNDP, the Government embraced the concept of a broadcasting service free of political interference, serving the objectives of peace building and promoting good governance.

Since its creation, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation has been empowering an information-hungry public, and will play a crucial role in information dissemination in the forthcoming elections.

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Photo: UNICEF/Olivier Asselin - Free and fair: the independent broadcaster SLBC beams the news and disseminates vital information to young people at a UNIDO-run Growth Centre.

Text: Therese Leijon