African Union Commission Endorses AFRIMA (All Africa Music Awards)
The African Union Commission, AUC, has endorsed the All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, by throwing its social and political influence behind the continental awards project that seeks to reward African music talents and promote the cultural heritage of the continent.
In a letter dated May 30, 2014, signed by the AUC’s Commissioner for Social Affairs, Dr. Sidiki Kaloko and addressed to the CEO/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr. Mike Dada, the AU commended the International Committee of AFRIMA ‘on such a powerful initiative’ for the integration of the continent. Dr. Kaloko described AFRIMA as a tool to “promote further African Music and ensure its contribution for the development of the continent’s cultural and creative industries sector”.
All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) is a continental showpiece conceptualised to communicate the rich musical and cultural heritage of Africa from an indigenous perspective. The award is telling the African story with Africa’s voice and positioning the continent’s creative industries for global competitiveness through the various activities on the awards event calendar.
“These are the kind of initiatives the AU is interested in being associated with as they contribute to the integration of our beloved continent. I therefore express our support to the initiative and look forward to working with you in this continent-wide project”, Kaloko stated.
This support follows on the heels of series of engagements over the years and the discussions between members of the International Committee of AFRIMA and African Union officials during a meeting held on March 7, 2014, at the Department of Social Affairs of the African Union Commission, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where the AFRIMA delegation formally presented the awards project to the AUC.
Reacting to the endorsement from AU, AFRIMA Co-Producer/Regional Director, East Africa, Mr. Mike Strano said: “The AUC received AFRIMA with open arms and minds during our visit to Addis Ababa in March and seemed enthusiastic about the awards project. Nevertheless, we are encouraged by the official endorsement and support given to AFRIMA. This can only open the awards and its different programmes up to the benefit of Africans. We look forward to working with the AUC to make our continent culturally and economically greater”.
Submission of entries for this year’s award is on going between May 15 and July 5, 2014. Music professionals including Artistes, Songwriters, Video Directors, Music Producers and Music Journalists of African origin living either on the continent or abroad are eligible to enter for any of the 32 categories of the award. Detailed information about eligibility and format of submission is available on www.afrima.org
Some events to happen in the AFRIMA project include:
AFRIMA Village (October 21-24), an open festival-style concert by African and international artistes with cultural exhibitions and carnival displays by participating countries from around the world.
The Africa Music Summit (October 23-24), a platform with distinguished panellists for the African music industry to engage and deliberate on how the industry can be nurtured and packaged in a way that contributes to the GDP of the continent. The Theme is “Reviving the Business of Music in Africa”.
The 2014 All Africa Music Awards will produce a star-studded, world-class event in Nigeria on Saturday, October 25 with live performances and television broadcast to 84 countries on 109 television stations around the world.
