The African Union (AU) in partnership with the International Committee of the All African Music Awards (AFRIMA) has formally unveiled the calendar of events for the upcoming 2021 edition of the awards ceremony.
The unveiling event, which took place at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on June 23, 2021 marks the formal opening of AFRIMA 2021 and features a line-up of undertakings and events that will take place between June 20 and November 21, 2021.
Speaking on behalf of the African Union, the Director of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Ms. Cisse Mariama Mohamed, noted that “The COVID pandemic resulted in multiple setbacks for the continent, but AFRIMA is commitment to uniting the continent through entertainment and honoring their tradition of celebrating the scintillating musical culture of Africa by featuring exhilarating Pan-Africa events through the lifespan of the calendar year in 2021 and we are looking forward to celebrating the richness of the African continent alongside AFRIMA in November this year”.
According to a document signed by Ms. Mohamed, the submission of entries marks the first official event of the 2021 AFRIMA calendar and officially opens globally on its website to African music professionals either living on the continent or in the diaspora from Monday, June 28, by 12:00noon Central African Time (CAT) and closes on Friday, August 20, 2021. Further details on entry submission guidelines are available on the AFRIMA website (www.afrima.org).
The submission of songs and videos must be produced or released under the year in review i.e. June 1, 2020 to August 20, 2021. African music artistes, managers, producers, record label owners, recording companies, video directors, Disc Jockeys, Choreographers/dancers, and International acts are eligible to submit their works or submit on behalf of their clients via the official AFRIMA website www.afrima.org for a possible nomination in one or more of the forty (40) categories of AFRIMA.
Other activities slated on the calendar include a ‘Pre-Screening process, where submitted entries will go through screening carried out by the Screening Committee of AFRIMA. The screening process would be done within the period of August 21 to 28 2021, after which the International Jury of AFRIMA comprising a 13-man panel of experienced, respected African music experts and practitioners will carry out the AFRIMA Adjudication process from August 29th to September 6th.
The Adjudication process will involve the International jury members carefully and painstakingly assessing and selecting the very best amongst submitted entries to occupy the AFRIMA 2021 Nominees’ List. On completion, a ‘World Media Announcement of AFRIMA 2021 Nominees’ will take place on September 7th to publicly unveil the African artistes and works by Africans in Africa and the diaspora that have been nominated.
On September 8 the AFRIMA Academy as well as African music fans and followers around the globe will begin to participate in the ‘AFRIMA Public Voting’ process to be conducted on www.afrima.org during which the 2021 nominees will receive votes that could lead them to emerging winners in the various categories of the awards. The voting process, which closes 24 hours before the main awards ceremony, would be monitored and audited by a reputable International Auditing Firm.
The main awards ceremony, set to hold from November 18th to 21st 2021 in the host city, is expected to feature a three-day fiesta of music, glamour, Afrocentrism and entertainment.
The event will commence with the Welcome Soiree followed by the AFRIMA Music Village, the Host City Tour, the Africa Music Business Summit, and the exclusive Nominees Party and then conclude with the live Awards Ceremony.
According to the organisers, fans of African music globally can follow and take part in the AFRIMA 2021 events on social media, live stream on the AFRIMA website, the AFRIMA App and by tuning to over 84 television stations which are AFRIMA partners.
In partnership with the African Union Commission, (AUC), All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, is the pinnacle of African music awards globally. AFRIMA is a music and cultural initiative developed to celebrate, reward and showcase the rich musical heritage of Africa, stimulate conversations among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the globe about the great potentials and values of the African culture and artistic legacy for the purpose of creating jobs, reducing poverty, calling attention of world leaders to Africa and promoting the positive image of Africa to the world.
