The Government of the Republic of Ghana has accepted Official Host Country rights for the 5th All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA-Ghana 2018 scheduled to hold between Wednesday, November 21 and Saturday, November 24 in Accra, Ghana in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Committee of AFRIMA.
The host country rights acceptance was conducted at a media announcement held on Tuesday, September 18 at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra, at the African Union Commission Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the delivery of the Official Host Country letter to the government of Ghana on September 16, 2018.
Leading the Ghanaian government delegation to the media announcement was the Honorable Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Hon. Catherine Afeku, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ziblim Iddi Barri.
Others are Ag. Chief Director Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Mr Vitus-Otto Langmagne; Director, Creative Arts Council, Ghana, Gyankroma Akufo-Addo; and Advisory Board Member, Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Ghana, Okatakyie Nana Anim 1.
Speaking at the event where she received the Hosting Right Certificate and the 23.9-carat gold-plated AFRIMA Trophy on behalf of the government and people of Ghana, the Minister expressed her delight at the opportunity given to Ghana to host the biggest music event in Africa.
“We want the people of this beautiful country to see this as a call to duty; a call to every creative artiste in Ghana, from the North to the south, to the east and the west. We, the good people of Ghana, would have to show the rest of Africa and the world that we are up to this task and well prepared to deliver a world-class music event in Africa,” she said.
“And I trust in you, seeing the plethora of attendees here today just for the acceptance tells me that we are well prepared and ready to take Africa by storm. The narrative of Africa must change and it will change through music. We can use music as a conduit for peace and send a strong signal to the rest of the world that Africa has its challenges but we have overcome most of them. Our young people are talented, intelligent and they are ambassadors of hope to the next generation.”
Expressing similar enthusiasm, Barri stressed that the people of Ghana were excited about hosting AFRIMA while also indicating President Nana Akufo-Addo’s interest in the AFRIMA project.
“The President has personally demonstrated and expressed his interest in this event, following its presentation by the minister to the cabinet, and the cabinet has also embraced it, ” he said.
The Deputy Minister went further to reiterate that Ghana has been a leading pioneer in the Pan African movement, “Ghana has a history of leading the Pan-African movement with its first President Kwame Nkrumah being a founding member of the AU, championing the Pan African course, AFRIMA project is in line with deepening the spirit of Pan Africanism in the African continent.”
In his address, the President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr Mike Dada spoke on the objective of AFRIMA as a major communication tool to promote the African heritage through its talents and arts.
Dada explained the values of AFRIMA with an acronym; FACE IT, which stands for Fairness, Accountability, Creativity, Excellence, Integrity and Transparency.
“We use the power of superstars to communicate the beauty, glamour and positive side of the Africa continent to the rest of the world. AFRIMA not only provides opportunities to the nominees but the host country as well, in showcasing the unique artistic, tourism and economic potentials of her culturally dynamic and beautiful cities”.
Answering questions from the media, Dada encouraged the nominees to reach out to their teeming followers and solicit for votes on the AFRIMA website, explaining that it is the artiste with the highest votes who will be awarded the 23.9 karat gold plated trophy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV-G0tATzpo
