President and Executive Producer of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), Mike Dada, was part of Art and Cultural experts invited to the 5th African Union Pan-African Cultural Congress (PACC5) held at the African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from September 5 to 7, 2018. PACC is a platform for Pan-African Cultural Institutions and Civil Society Organizations working on the arts, culture, and heritage field to provide their contributions to the policy making process of the African Union (AU).

Mike Dada, drawing from his experience and knowledge in destination Marketing, Perception Management, Media and Law presented a paper with the theme "Advancing the African Union Agenda 2063 through African Culture and Creative Economy" aimed at sharing best practices for the promotion of the AU Agenda 2063, shared practical knowledge on actions AFRIMA employs in showcasing great potentials and values of the African musical and artistic heritage, while also promoting the positive image of Africa to the world for global competitiveness.

Mr. Mike Dada was also elected 2nd Vice President of the PACC Bureau, a position which will be occupied for 3years, and subject to the PACC objective of proposing policies towards the contribution of culture and arts in the development of the continent. Also elected into the PACC5 Bureau were Chairperson, Mr. Daves Guzha - President of Arterial Network; 1st Vice Chairperson, Prof. Lupwishi Mbuyamba - Executive Director of OCPA; Member, Dr. Vuningoma James - Executive Secretary, Rwanda Academy of Language and Culture; Member, Mrs Florence Mukanga Majachani - Cultural Policy Consultant and Research.

The State Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ethiopia, H.E. Mrs. Bezunesh Meseret welcomed delegates to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The event was well attended by cultural/professional experts, practitioners, and civil society organizations in the arts and culture sector of the economy, where various ideas and experiences were shared towards harnessing African cultural diversity and its cultural identity for Wealth Creation, Youth Employability, African Unity, and Global Peace.

Former Cultural Director of Rockefeller and the Ford Foundations, Dr. Damien Pwono, one of the speakers, in his keynote address on Cultural Diplomacy, commended the President/Executive Producer of AFRIMA for the immense effort of AFRIMA at showcasing the potentials of Africa through its creative industry. He said: “AFRIMA is doing a great job at promoting African culture using its arts, talents, and music, it provides a platform that popularises the dynamism in our culture, thereby creating a sustainable competitive creative economy.”

In its effort to promote the AU agenda 2063, which is to garner strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the continent over the next 50 years, the 5th African Union Pan-African Cultural Congress enables creative and cultural experts, researchers, creators/producers of culture, policymakers and cultural promoters to come share ideas, tackle challenges, and formulate best practices towards programmes in Africa in the area of cultural and creative economy and development.

In partnership with the African Union, the All Africa Music Awards is a music property that recognises and rewards the work and talent of a myriad of African artists from the old to the new generation of musicians. Through its conference, AFRIMA also stimulates conversations among Africans and between Africa and the rest of the world about the potential of the creative arts for real humanising enterprise on the continent, contributing significantly to social cohesion, national, regional and continental integration as well as sustainable development in Africa. The award show is usually broadcast to over eighty countries around the world.

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