President Paul Kagame, on May 2, said that Move Afrika has a lasting impact that will be seen through the continent’s contribution to the creative industry.
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He was speaking virtually during the Global Citizen Now summit taking place in New York with a focus on ideas for urgent action to achieve a world where everyone’s basic needs are fulfilled
Move Afrika, a Global Citizen initiative, is a campaign meant to boost economic investment and job creation through Pan-African music tours. The inaugural event was hosted in Rwanda in December 2023.
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"Rwanda was privileged to host the first-ever Move Afrika concert last December. We look forward to our collaboration with Global Citizen over the next four years,” Kagame said.
"Move Afrika is important because it is already building the professional workforce needed to support major concert tours. The lasting impact will be seen through great African contributions to the creative industry that is worth billions of dollars.”
Consequently, he added, this can transform Africa’s economy and how the world’s young people perceive Africa.
The creative economy has an estimated global value of $4.3 trillion, poised to play a role in Africa’s development.
The Head of State noted that the purpose of Move Afrika is to advance the common cause with last year’s event which focused on building strong healthcare systems with a particularity on community health workers.
"Music brings people together. This togetherness in our complex world is strength we must build on,” he said.
The Global Citizen is an advocacy organization on a mission to end extreme poverty across the world and create jobs and economic opportunities for young Africans.
Being a Global Citizen means believing that extreme poverty can be eliminated, and that the resources to end it can be mobilized if enough people act by learning about the systemic inequalities that fuel poverty, racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and economic inequalities and joining in taking action to overcome these sustainably.
Kagame said there is a direct correlation between human capital, economic growth, and stability.
"Our people come first and that’s why we invest heavily in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. When you overlook human capital, people start looking for a better life elsewhere –which is a driver of regular migration.”
Additionally, he noted that the country remains forward-looking by investing in technology and innovation and putting in place measures to attract the brightest African minds to come to Rwanda and test their digital solutions, startups, and more.
Kagame also talked about how Rwanda was able to rise from the ashes of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi to now being on a journey of development driven by self-reliance.