Brand SA

Africa Day
Media Release

23 May 2020

A new day will dawn in Africa

Brand SA’s Africa Day initiative focuses on harnessing African unity in response to Covid-19

Johannesburg, [insert date of distribution] : Brand South Africa, in collaboration with the
Department of Arts and Culture, Bassline and its stakeholders, will be hosting a live-streaming Africa
Day celebration on You Tube on Saturday, 30 May.

The event, which will feature a collaborative song by a number of African musicians, will honour a
united Africa that is committed to the fight against the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic through
artistic activism. The performance of the song will be supported by messages from both Brand South
Africa and the Department of Arts and Culture.

This year’s Africa Day celebration, entitled “Play Your Part: Africa Unite”, will be streamed live from
artists’ and other participants’ homes in compliance with South Africa’s quarantine, lockdown and
social distancing regulations. The streaming link will then be disseminated for broadcast by
Multichoice, which will cover the streaming costs.

The song, also titled “Play Your Part: Africa Unite”, aims to highlight and foster African unity, and
features a number of languages spoken on the continent, including Swahili, Lingala, Zulu, isiXhosa,
seTswana, English, Afrikaans, Shona and French. This multi-lingual approach is inspired by the bold,
vibrant, and resilient African spirit, which has once again come to the fore during the current Covid-
19 crisis. It encourages Africans to draw on this spirit and to play their part in flattening the curve
and keeping one another safe.

“No one could have foreseen the magnitude of the health, social and economic challenge we would
have to face in 2020,” says Acting CEO of Brand SA, Thulisile Manzini. “In February, when South
Africa was elected Chair of the African Union for the year, there was hardly a hint of the storm that
was to come. In fact, we anticipated a very positive year in which we could devote the considerable
energies of the AU and its members to the task of advancing the continent’s 2063 development
strategy.

“Covid-19 has put that on the back burner, but it’s underlined the way in which Africans pull
together in the face of adversity and support one another through the most difficult of times.”

The “Play Your Part: Africa Unite” song is inspired by this unique African world view and features
leading South African artists including DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small, Ricky Rick, Rouge Rapper,
Youngsta CPT and Dee Koala, as well as Shasha, who hails from Zimbabwe, and Tresor from the DRC.

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The lyrics are a clarion call to Africa’s large youth population to stand firm in the face of the Covid-19
pandemic and to #PlayYourPart in halting its advance.

It begins by appealing to young people to heed the call to stay home and to adopt recommended
measures to prevent the spread of the virus. These include regular hand washing, the wearing of
face masks in public places, and social distancing. But also embedded within this is a message that
reflects the triumphant African spirit: “It’s me and you together; we shall overcome.”

“We want Africa’s people – and its young people in particular – to feel supported and uplifted by the
spirit of ubuntu (African unity) in this song,” says Manzini. “And, as importantly, we want them to
know that our culture of watching out for one another is really paying off.”

Apart from the Oceanic region, which includes Australia, New Zealand and four Polynesian islands,
Africa currently has the lowest Covid-19 infection rate in the world, with just over a 100,000
infections. This compares to over 1,8 million in both Europe and North America, nearly a million in
Asia, and nearly 600 000 in South America (Source: Worldometer, 23 May, 17:03 CAT).

“Africa may be facing many challenges,” says Manzini, “but its young, energetic population has the
power to harness its cultural heritage and create exactly what we’re aiming for: the Africa we want.
In a similar way, we at Brand South Africa are harnessing the continent’s creative talent to
demonstrate once again the subtle – and practical – power of unity.”

The “Play Your Part: Africa Unite” song will be available for streaming and downloads on all major
platforms. Proceeds will be donated to the South African Solidarity Response Fund, which features
the tagline ‘unity in action’. The fund’s mandate is to support the national healthcare response to
Covid-19, contribute to humanitarian relief efforts, and mobilise South Africans to work together to
prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It also aims to support the country’s people in dealing with
the socio-economic impact the pandemic has had.

Brand SA encourages Africans across the continent to watch the event and to download the track in
support of the Solidarity Fund, as well as to contribute directly to the fund using the contact
information available at https://www.solidarityfund.co.za/support.html.

“This initiative is very much in line with South Africa’s theme for this year as the Chair of the African
Union,” says Manzini, “which is Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s
Development. Through song, we are aiming to highlight Africa’s cultural tradition of unity and the
immense power it has to overcome adversity as well as to foster a process of re-building after a
crisis.”

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Further Information:
For more information on Brand SA and its Africa Day initiative, please visit
www.brandsouthafrica.com, like Brand South Africa on Facebook, or follow Brand SA on Twitter.
Facebook: @BrandSouthafrica
Twitter: @Brand_SA

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