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 took place at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on June 23, 2021.

The unveiling activity marks the formal opening of AFRIMA 2021 and features a line-up of undertakings and events that would 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, Mrs. Cisse Mariama Mohamed, noted: “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 Mrs. Mohamed, the submission of entries, marks the first official event of the 2021 AFRIMA calendar and officially opens globally on www.afrima.org 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 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.”

According to the organisers, “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 involves 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’ List’ 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 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.

“Finally, the main awards ceremony, set to hold from November 18th to November 2021 in the host city, features a three-day fiesta of music, glamour, Afrocentrism and entertainment. The event commences 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 concluded with the live Awards Ceremony.”

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