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Africa Day 2020

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s celebration of Africa Day2020, Monday 25th May, will be characterised by an innovative digital format, with an artistic and cultural content dedicated to the African continent. At the instigation of Deputy Minister Emanuela Del Re, in agreement with Minister Luigi Di Maio, the Foreign Ministry has designed a virtual marathon to mark the anniversary of the birth of the Organization of African Unity (now African Union) and also the friendship and solidarity between Africa and Italy facing the health emergency.

The program of the Day includes the uploading of a video on the Foreign Ministry YouTube channel, in which about 50 contributions by African and Italian artists are collected, among which can be mentioned Niccolò Fabi, Tommy Kuti, Kandy Guira, the Mezzotono and Baba Sissoko. The music videos will be interspersed with short speeches by political personalities aimed at underlining the importance of the historical relations between Italy and Africa.

Among these political speeches there will be messages of greetings from Minister Di Maio, Deputy Minister Del Re, South African Foreign Minister Pandor (currently South Africa is at the African Union Presidency), Vice Secretary General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed, President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo, Vice President of the African Union Commission Kwesi Quartey and the Executive Secretary of UNECA, Vera Songwe.

The initiative will be encouraged on the Ministerial Facebook channel, as well as on the Ministry website.

The initiative described has already aroused strong interest both among the Embassies of African countries accredited in Italy that have contributed with videos of artists from their own country, and among International Organisations and civil society organisations engaged in the issues of the Continent. UNECA, ICCROM, AICS, Somali University, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Aurora Foundation, Sylvestro Ganassi School of Music and Italia-Africa Business Week have assured the support to the initiative.

In parallel to the video-marathon, a virtual photographic exhibition dedicated to Africa will be set up, which will include some shots of Italian photographers who – in cooperation with the Embassies and Italian Cultural Institutes in the area – have made exhibitions in 2019 or had exhibitions planned for this year. The selected photographs will be available on the website and on the Ministry Instagram channel and will accompany the commemorative video on the same day on 25th May.

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