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The Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr on Friday 16th December 2022 launched the Freetown Fashion Design Freetown,n-basedand Creative Arts Network.
The Freetown Fashion Design and Creative Arts Network initiative came in 2020 after Mayor Aki-Sawyerr and Mayor Giuseppe Sala of Milan co-founded the Mayors’ Dialogue.
Mayors’ Dialogue is a city-led platform for Africa and Europe which aim to create opportunities and improve the lives of residents, addressing youth jobs in many African cities.
After a series of dialogues between the mayors, it was decided to center the first city-to-city collaboration on fashion.
Freetown’s Mayor stated that after months of working together to identify opportunities for collaboration between the fashion design industries and creative communities in cities, they reached a significant milestone with the launch of the Freetown Fashion Design and Creative Arts Network.
With partnership and support from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Labrum (a menswear fashion brand fusing British tailoring with West African design), the platform will be used to develop channel opportunities for skills exchanges between cities.
The ultimate aim is to open the Milan market to Freetown fashion for leads the industry and create jobs.
Morta Foresti project leads ODI, Foday Dumbuya Labrum founder, and creative director from London, and Nonku Msomi from Durban came to participate in the launch event and to engage with Freetown-based creatives who have been working on the concept of the Freetown Fashion Design and Creative Arts Network.
The Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr expressed her appreciation to the participants of the event.
“We were excited to listen to three Freetown creative makers share reflections about their experiences in London and Milan in July and September this year. It was also a pleasure to listen to a recorded message from Mayor Giuseppe Sala of Milan. The London-based right was watching a very moving film produced by London-based Sierra Leonean producer Julian Knox. “Freedom of Movement” embodies the center of what the Freetown Fashion Design and Creative Arts Network and the broader Mayors Dialogue seek to achieve.
An arts and crafts exhibition provided a stimulating background to a lovely evening in which fashion designers, makers, musicians, artists, and filmmakers, Empower Africa and Innovation SL committed to working together with Free, town City Council to ensure that the Freetown Fashion, Design and Creative Arts Network is a success”.,
