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President Julius Maada Bio marked his 62nd birthday on Tuesday with expressions of gratitude to God, his family, and the people of Sierra Leone, as the Julius Maada Bio Leadership Colloquium 2.0 opened at the Bintumani Conference Centre in Freetown.
The President, who serves as Special Guest of Honour for the two-day event, took to social media to celebrate the milestone.
“Celebrating another incredible year, I am filled with joy and gratitude to God for guiding me this far and for all the amazing opportunities along the way,” President Bio wrote. “A huge thank you to my wife Fatima and my family for their unwavering love through the years. I also deeply appreciate the people of Sierra Leone for your prayers and steadfast support that keep me going.”
The colloquium’s opening day, coinciding with the President’s birthday, is dedicated to the African Young Leaders Convergence 2026 under the theme “From Potential to Power: Unlocking Youth Agency for Africa’s Transformation.”
The gathering brings together young leaders from across the continent to discuss strategies for harnessing youth potential in driving Africa’s development agenda. The day’s proceedings focus on empowering young Africans to move beyond being passive beneficiaries of policy to becoming active agents of change.
The second day of the colloquium, scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, will feature a distinguished lineup of African leaders under the theme “Reimagining African Leadership: Courage, Accountability, and Innovation in an Era of Global Uncertainty.”
Expected speakers include Baroness Patricia Scotland, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth; His Royal Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III, the Olu of Warri Kingdom in Delta State, Nigeria; and Dr. Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi.
The two-day leadership gathering is being held at the Bintumani Conference Centre in Freetown, with registration available via email.
President Bio, who has led Sierra Leone since 2018, has made youth empowerment a cornerstone of his administration’s human capital development agenda. The colloquium, now in its second edition, seeks to deepen conversations on leadership and governance across the African continent.
