By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The organisers of the prestigious All African Music Awards (AFRIMA) have stressed that they will not bow to any pressure to extend the deadline for entry submission slated for Friday, August 5, 2022.
In a statement issued this week, the international committee of AFRIMA, urged all artists, music professionals and other relevant stakeholders within Africa and across the diaspora to submit their entries before the portal closes.
“It is important that all relevant parties submit their entries on time this year. We are a very thorough and transparent organisation, and we have a clear process for the award ceremony every year.
“Once submission of entries ends, we spend time judging the materials before we can derive our final nominations list.
“We also have a specific time allotted to voting. The entire process is also audited by a firm of international repute, PricewaterhouseCoopers. We do not just wake up and nominate people.
“AFRIMA 2022 will be held from November 3 – 6 this year. To achieve this, we cannot extend deadlines at this point,” the juror representing Diaspora Northern America, Hadja Kobele Keita, said.
AFRIMA advised all prospective entries created between August 20, 2021, and August 5, 2022, to enter the competition via www.afrima.org, noting that all submissions must be done in consonance with AFRIMA guidelines, and terms and conditions, which are also available on the website.
This year’s edition retains its existing categories, all of which are carefully curated to celebrate the best of talents within the African music scene as well as communicate the strengths of Africa for global competitiveness.
A pre-screening and the main screening process will be carried out, respectively, by a world-class 13-member jury composed of seasoned music experts from across the five regions of Africa and in the diaspora, between August 5 and 16, 2022.
A world media announcement of the AFRIMA 2022 nominees list will be held on August 17, 2022, officially heralding the voting period for this year’s edition. From August 24, 2022, the AFRIMA Academy as well as music fans and followers around the globe will begin to participate in the public voting process to be conducted on AFRIMA’s website, during which the nominees will receive votes that could lead them to emerge winners in the various categories of the awards.
The voting process, which closes 24 hours before the awards ceremony, would be monitored and audited by a reputable international auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The awards ceremony will be held from Thursday, November 3 to Sunday, November 6, 2022. It will feature a 4-day fiesta of music, glitz, and glamour. The event is scheduled to commence with the welcome soiree, followed by the AFRIMA Music Village, the host city tour, African Music Business Summit, and the exclusive nominees’ party and concluded with the live awards ceremony broadcast to over 84 countries around the world.
