President Joseph Boakai of Liberia is in Sacramento this week to accept a Peace Leadership Award and deliver the keynote address at the 34th annual Africa Peace Awards. Organizers say the quick visit includes meetings with U.S. partners and a town hall with the local Liberian community. Sacramento State is hosting the awards dinner along with several related panels and screenings over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Official visit and award<\/p>\n
The Liberian presidency announced that Boakai departed on April 22 for a working visit to the United States to receive the Peace Leadership Award and serve as keynote speaker at the awards ceremony. The government release described the honor as recognition of \u201chis commitment to peacebuilding, democratic governance, and inclusive development\u201d and listed senior officials traveling with the president. According to the Executive Mansion<\/a>, Boakai is scheduled to return to Liberia on May 1.<\/p>\n Sac State hosts conference and awards<\/p>\n California State University, Sacramento\u2019s Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution is running the 34th annual Africa & the Diaspora conference from April 23 to 25, with the awards dinner set for Saturday, April 25 at the Harper Alumni Center. Event materials from the university president\u2019s office list Boakai as the distinguished keynote speaker and honoree, and highlight panels, a film screening and a healing circle as part of the program. Tickets and registration are handled through Sac State, and proceeds support the Center\u2019s programs. As outlined by California State University, Sacramento<\/a>, the events are open to the public and include both campus and community sessions.<\/p>\n Local Liberian community town hall<\/p>\n Local reporting says Boakai will meet Sacramento\u2019s Liberian community in a town hall style event tied to the conference, giving diaspora residents a direct line to the president on issues ranging from investment to reconciliation. According to ABC10<\/a>, the president\u2019s schedule includes a community meeting while in town. Diaspora outlets including FrontPageAfrica<\/a> report that organizers have stressed the event\u2019s role in reconnecting Liberians at home and abroad. For registration and media requests, the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution has posted contact information to its event portal.<\/p>\n Why it matters<\/p>\n Boakai\u2019s U.S. trip comes as Liberia works to rebuild international ties after a contested political transition and to draw investment and technical partnerships. His appearance in Sacramento is both symbolic and practical: the awards ceremony spotlights peacebuilding efforts while the town hall offers diaspora Liberians a forum to push for collaboration on development and governance. Coverage by the Associated Press<\/a> laid out the priorities Boakai set upon taking office in 2024, including fighting corruption and restoring national unity.<\/p>\n What to know if you go<\/p>\n The awards dinner is ticketed, with general admission listed at $95 and table packages available, and organizers ask visitors to register in advance. For event details, registration and ADA requests, see the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution<\/a> event page or contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. Expect heightened campus activity at Sacramento State on Saturday evening as the conference wraps up with the Harper Alumni Center dinner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Joseph Boakai of Liberia is in Sacramento this week to accept a Peace Leadership Award and deliver…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-283967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento","8":"tag-sacramento","9":"tag-sacramento-headlines","10":"tag-sacramento-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}