The President and Executive Producer of the All Africa Music Award, Mike Dada, has been invited as a distinguished speaker to address the 4th Pan Africa Cultural Congress holding at Sandton International Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa from May 25 to 27.
The congress is organised by the African Union Commission with the theme: “Unity in Cultural Diversity for Africa’s Development.”
Dada will be presenting a paper on the “AFRIMA Project” with the topic: “Creative Economy: From Policy to Practice.”
According to the African Union Commission: “The purpose of the 4th Pan-African Cultural Congress is to provide a platform for cultural experts, policy makers, private sector, civil society organisations working in the art, tourism and culture sector to take stock of the challenges and record good practices on harnessing cultural diversity to enhance policy development on the theme.”
Heads Of State and Ministers of Culture, Youth and Tourism as well as cultural enthusiasts are expected.
The 4th Pan-Africa Cultural Congress is being organized in collaboration with the Department of Arts and Culture of the Republic of South Africa as part of the Africa Month Celebrations, which is aimed to foster the African Renaissance vision as encapsulated in the charter for African Cultural Renaissance and the African Union agenda for 2063.
AFRIMA has been championing supports and recognitions for the creative industries in Africa and Diaspora with the AFRIMA Project.
It has become a parameter for promoting positive image about Africa through music and art.
It is guided by its mission statement: “To produce an international platform to celebrate our cultural heritage and values. Rewarding up and coming as well as established talent and creating sustainable growth of the African music industry as a contributor to national and continental economies.”
The AFRIMA team has raised the bar in Africa’s music industry and also helping to preserve African cultural values.
Speaking on his invitation, Dada, a Public Relations and Brand Management professional, who is also the Managing Director of PRM Africa, a foremost Lagos-based International Public Relations and Brand Communication agency, is excited by his invitation.
He said: “I feel honoured by this opportunity to share with and address the Pan African Cultural Congress on the mission of AFRIMA of achieving a desired Africa where poverty is reduced and a new positive narrative is built through the instrumentality of music and creativity. This will only go a long way to spur us work harder in taking the AFRIMA project beyond Africa.”
African Union’s Agenda 2063’s Aspiration is aimed at achieving “an Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics”.
By 2063 it is hoped that “our diversity in culture, heritage, languages and religion shall be a cause of strength”.
AFRIMA is a continental music awards project that is conceptualized to reward music talents of Africa and also stimulate conversations on how the African music industry can contribute to the economies of African countries and create jobs towards reducing poverty on the continent.
AFRIMA is in conjunction with the African Union Commission.