DATE: JULY 30th, 2020

CONTACT: Prince Chimaroke Chukwuka, [email protected], +234(0)8130476072

Abuja – Voice to Represent (“Voice2Rep”), Nigeria’s flagship campaign to identify, support and connect young talented artists to increase civic awareness through music and advocate for greater accountability, equality, and democracy in Nigeria, is hosting a virtual concert themed #ForHER in support of Women’s Rights.

The event features performances from Africa’s premier live band, Alternate sound, as well as the 2020 cohort of Voice2Rep artists, which includes: Beddie-Member Boma – “Shona”, Pepple Fidelia – “Delia”, Faden Elijah – “Ejay”, Abah Hope – “Giovanni”, Olatide Wright – “Tide”, Sarumi Keizy – “Keizy Sugarh”, Oparemi Favour – “Millar”, Ijeh Jessica – “Nanya Ijeh”, Jeremiah Boniface Ofante – “Jezzay” and Ajanlekoko Emmanuel-David – “Just ED”.

The concert will also feature presentations from the honorable minister of women affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, and civil society leaders advocating for gender equity and female representation in Nigeria. The Voice2Rep campaign, currently in its second year, is supported by the Government of the Netherland, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Luminate group with Chocolate City Music group and Don’t Drop The Mic Entertainment as partners.

The virtual concert takes place live at 8 PM on Instagram and Facebook on the 31st of July, 2020 via the @voice2rep handle on these social media platforms. The campaign is powered by Accountability Lab Nigeria, a civil society organization making governance work for people by supporting active citizens, responsible leaders, and accountable institutions.

The country director, Accountability Lab Nigeria Friday Odeh said: “The need to lend our voice to issues around women’s rights cannot be over-emphasized and there is no better timing than now as the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic which has plagued Nigeria and the rest of the world and necessitated a global lockdown.

The lockdown has in many ways increased the violation of women’s rights as we have seen an acute rise in the cases of gender-based violence across the country with over 700 cases reported within the past 5 months. Thus the need for such a concert that engages young music artists to raise awareness around these issues and inspire citizens to #RaiseTheirVoice in support of women’s rights using their art, craft, and voice to represent.”

Women’s rights in Nigeria have suffered considerable hindrances due to social and cultural barriers; exacerbated by the patriarchal nature of our society and enunciated by spates of gender-based violence; and difficulty in victims of such transgressions seeking justice.

The Nigerian police recorded 717 rape cases between January and May of 2020 alone with COVID-19 restrictions causing a spike in domestic violence against women and girls. Social media has recently been presented as an effective tool for bringing these issues to light with numerous stories of such transgressions being brought to the fore.

The Voice2Rep concert hopes to bring the voices of people through their music to advocate for the support of women’s rights and push for equality. Hence, the theme “For Her – I am generation equality.” On this note, we invite one and all to join the concert and use their “voice to represent” support for women’s rights.

For the submission of questions and suggestions contact: Prince on [email protected].

About Accountability Lab:

Accountability Lab Nigeria (www.accountabilitylab.org) is building a new generation of active citizens and responsible leaders across Nigeria. The lab makes governance work for people everywhere by supporting active citizens, responsible leaders, and accountable institutions.

The Lab makes governance work for people everywhere by supporting active citizens, responsible leaders, and accountable institutions. It develops creative campaigns, runs a highly competitive accountability incubator for young civil society change-makers, and develops new approaches to citizen feedback in Nigeria.

About the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Netherland:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the channel through which the Dutch Government communicates with foreign governments and international organizations. It coordinates and carries out Dutch foreign policy. The Ministry has two halves: its headquarters in The Hague and its missions abroad (embassies, consulates, and permanent representations).

Source: https://www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/about-the-ministry

About Luminate Group:

Established in 2018, Luminate is a global philanthropic organization with the goal of empowering people and institutions to work together to build just and fair societies.

They do this by funding and supporting non-profit and for-profit organizations and advocating for policies and actions that will help people participate in and shape the issues affecting their lives, and make those in power more transparent, responsive, and accountable.

They prioritize delivering impact in four connected areas that underpin strong societies: Civic Empowerment, Data & Digital Rights, Financial Transparency, and Independent Media.

Across all these areas, our strategy is long-term yet responsive. This allows us to focus on supporting those driving sustainable solutions to deeply entrenched issues – while remaining flexible enough to react quickly to evolving challenges.

Luminate builds on a portfolio and wealth of expertise built up over a decade as the Governance & Citizen Engagement initiative at Omidyar Network.  We remain part of The Omidyar Group, established by Pierre and Pam Omidyar. Pierre is the founder of eBay.

Source: https://luminategroup.com/about