The International Committee of All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, embarks on social advocacy and developmental initiatives to ensure marginalized voices are represented and heard. AFRIMA achieves this by working with stakeholders and collaborators to identify critical issues affecting African communities, we bring these issues to global attention and donate time and resources to contribute towards the resolution of these issues.
The core focus of ‘Our Voice’ is in education and women and youth empowerment.
The AFRIMA advocacy takes its cue from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mantra to “Leave No One Behind” by 2030 – and to reach those who are furthest behind first by ending extreme poverty in all its forms, reducing inequalities among both individuals and groups.
Many people remain marginalized and extremely poor and this may be due to where they live, or aspects of who they are – such as whether they have a disability or their age, race, ethnicity or gender.
Mission of ‘Our Voice’ Social Responsibility Initiative
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Make African voices heard by working with relevant experts to identify needs of marginalized communities.
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Leverage the power of music and African superstars to amplify the muffled voices of the vulnerable and disadvantaged.
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Convene platforms for mainstream inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders to develop a responsive action plan.
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Address specific needs through outreach and community projects.
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Form coalitions, partnerships and collaborations to advance the social advocacy efforts in Africa.
How to Purchase
EDUCATE–A–CHILD CAMPAIGN
Since 2015, AFRIMA has used the Educate-A-Child campaign to raise consciousness for education and literacy of children in Africa. Illiteracy is one of the challenges facing the African continent and poses a threat to national governments’ efforts to empower the citizenry economically. AFRIMA is committed to reducing illiteracy in Africa via the Educate-A-Child Campaign initiative by advocating for investment in education –formal and informal– by African leaders. This informs AFRIMA’s participation at youth and education-oriented events organized by our partners including the African Union and the ONE Campaign.
In May 2016, AFRIMA Foundation visited Bakoteh Proper Lower Basic School, Banjul, Gambia as part of the programmes lined up for the AFRIMA-AUC joint media/cultural conference held in Gambia on May 24. AFRIMA Foundation donated educational materials, computers and musical equipment to the school
AFRIMA Foundation also supported the Felabration 2016 Senior Secondary School Debate held in the 2016 Main Awards Host City Lagos State, Nigeria, by donating books and computer equipment to participating schools and students.
The 2018 main awards ceremony, hosted by the Republic of Ghana between November 21 and November 24, also had as part of its activities the donation of educational materials and musical instruments by AFRIMA Foundation to St. Thomas Presbyterian Primary School in Osu Town, Accra, Ghana. The team which visited the school to mentor and inspire the students included members of the International Committee of AFRIMA, African Union Commission officials, Ghanaian government officials, star African artistes as well as African and International media.
ONE’s MAKE NAIJA STRONGER CAMPAIGN
AFRIMA collaborated with the ONE Campaign in 2016 to embark on Make Naija Stronger, a health campaign which focused on getting better and higher quality investments in the Nigerian health sector and particular emphasis on the implementation of the National Health Act. With Nigeria being the Host Country of the 2016 Main Awards Event, It was imperative for AFRIMA to get behind this health campaign to amplify the challenges faced in the health sector especially as many creatives who work in the country are at risk of health hazards during the pursuit of their creative exploits.
One of the positive outcomes of the Make Naija Stronger campaign was evident in 2017 through legislation passed by the National Assembly of Nigeria signing into bill an increase in the Nigerian Health Budge
AFRIMA & GREENPEACE GREENER ENVIRONMENT CAMPAIGN
In 2017, AFRIMA partnered Greenpeace, a multicultural movement working to bring about the change necessary to realize a greener, more peaceful future, to promote conscious protection of the environment and promote solutions to the critical environmental sustainability issues faced in Africa.
The organization introduced its current campaign and made a call-to-action on a dedicated spot during the 2017 main awards live show. The campaign challenged live and broadcast audiences to transform how we see the world and the part we play in the world. It requested increasing our collective responsibility for each other so we can build a green and peaceful future.
AFRIMA & Greenpeace enlisted the support of influencers and celebrities present at the awards for the campaign through social media posts/video messages of support and commitments for further engagement.
I AM AFRICA CAMPAIGN
The 2017 All Africa Music Awards conceived a social media and outdoor campaign themed: “I Am Africa” –a phrase that extols the values, virtues and resources of the continent of Africa and its peoples.
There were two objectives for the campaign:
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To create, from an authentic African perspective, an alternative reality of the misconceptions and negative assumptions about Africa that have flooded the foreign media for several decades by changing the narrative through conceptual narrative photography.
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To generate organic social media conversations among our primary target audience about the viability and richness of Africa’s tangible and intangible resources. We created a hashtag #IAmAfrica for the social media activation and used the photography for outdoor advertising building up to the main awards ceremony.