This is Africa! Here’s how you can virtually celebrate Africa Day

The day is intended to celebrate and acknowledge the successes of the continent in the fight against colonialism and apartheid, as well as the progress the continent has made, while also reflecting upon the common challenges it faces in a global environment.

JOHANNESBURG – Happy Africa Day!

Monday 25 May marks the 57th Annual Commemoration of Africa Day, the day when the continent made history with the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to the African Union (AU).

The day is intended to celebrate and acknowledge the successes of the continent in the fight against colonialism and apartheid, as well as the progress the continent has made, while also reflecting upon the common challenges it faces in a global environment.

South Africa, along with other countries on the continent, is under lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). However, this doesn’t mean that celebrations can’t take place.

In these unprecedented (yes this is the IT word at the moment) times, people have turned to social media as an outlet, a resource, and above all, a way to stay connected and reminded that they are not facing this pandemic alone.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE CELEBRATIONS YOU CAN WATCH AND JOIN IN ON:

The National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa (NFVFSA), has invited storytellers (film and television) to use the hashtag #IAmAnAfricanStoryteller and tag @NFVFSA to join the celebrations.

“Using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, we encourage you to post an image of yourself, a friend or a colleague, sharing your fondest memories and experiences as a storyteller. Your story matters,” the organisation said in a statement.

When you are done tagging and sharing your story, you need to get up off your couch or bed and dance!

A benefit concert featuring a star-studded list of African music performances and global guest presenters will be available on YouTube and ViacomCBS Networks Africa in partnership with Idris Elba.

It will be streamed on the MTV Base Africa YouTube channel at 18:00 and broadcast on the channel in Africa at 21:00 CAT. The two-hour special also aims to raise funds to support food and health needs for children and families in Africa affected by COVID-19.

Okay put your hands on your head or in the air and scream because the line-up includes performances like African legends Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ismael Lo together with some of the most talented artists across the continent, including Burna Boy, Bebe Cool, Tiwa Savage, Sho Madjozi, Davido, AKA and Tiwa Savage and so many more!

Ehem! It’s time to polish those voices, make sure the acoustics are favourable and sing your lungs out loud to the African Union anthem.

If you don’t know it, don’t worry because Bongani Tembe, along with 100 musicians from the Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestras, will take you through it.

Check out the blessing below:

If the song and dance isn’t your cuppa, then perhaps virtual lectures and speeches from the South African Parliament and President Cyril Ramaphosa will invoke that nationalism in you.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Lechesa Tsenoli and deputy chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Sylvia Lucas hosted a virtual public lecture this morning.

The theme this year is Silencing the guns: Creating conducive conditions for Africa's development.

The lecture featured an address by Professor Adekeye Adebajo, African scholar and researcher heading up the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg.

After all of that excitement, you can now head to your couch or bed and watch some proudly made in Africa Netflix content.

Go to its Made in Africa section to browse more than 100 titles of proudly African content.

Some amazing films include the Oscar-winning Tsotsi, as well as Uncovered, _The Wedding Party, Baby Mamas, Tjovitjo, Castle & Castle, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Azali, Potato Potahto _and Joy.