All Africa Music Awards Ready To Roll


Sarkodie
All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), which is being organised to celebrate the rich musical heritage of Africa and her talented artistes for the economic growth of the continent, will take place in Nigeria on October 25 with live performances and television broadcast to 84 countries on 109 television stations around the world.

This year’s event,  which was launched at the Alisa Hotel in Accra last Friday, would include a number of activities like an open festival-style concert by African and international artistes with cultural exhibitions and carnival displays by participating countries from around the world from October 21 to 24.

According to the organisers of the event, AFRIMA would engage players of the industry on how music could be nurtured and packaged in a way that contributes to the GDP of the continent; coming off in October 23 and 24 under the theme: ‘Reviving the Business of Music in Africa’.

Based on its outstanding contributions to the development of the Africa music industry, the African Union Commission (AUC) has endorsed 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 signed by the AUC’s Commissioner for Social Affairs, Dr Sidiki Kaloko and addressed to the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Producer of AFRIMA, Mr Mike Dada, the AU commended the International Committee of AFRIMA on their 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 that 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,’ Dr 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.

According to the organisers, submission of entries for this year’s award is still ongoing till 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.

By George Clifford Owusu ([email protected])

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