Ghana ready to host AFRIMA in November

*Mike Dada, President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA presents the AFRIMA 23.9carat good-plated trophy . to Catherine Afeku, Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, as a symbol of Republic of Ghana winning the host country bid.

Ghana has accepted to host the 5th All Africa Music Awards between November 21 and Saturday, November 24 in Accra this year. It will be hosted in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Committee of AFRIMA.

The host country rights acceptance was conducted on Tuesday at a media announcement at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra.

It followed the official unveiling of the 5th AFRIMA Host Country by the African Union on September 6, 2018 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 Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Afeku accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ziblim Iddi Barri; Ag. Chief Director, Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Mr. Vitus-Otto Langmagne; Director, Creative Arts Council, Ghana, Ms. 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”.

“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”, Catherine concluded.

Dr. Ziblim Iddi 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”.

The President/Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr. Mike 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”.

Mike 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.

Sharing the story of relatively unknown Ghanaian music artiste in the 2014 edition of AFRIMA, Mr. Dada said “Wiyaala, she won two AFRIMA awards based on the votes by her fans and this subsequently opened her up to countless opportunities”.