Pan-African anthem and video created to inspire kindness during pandemic

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By ANA Reporter Time of article published1h ago

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CAPE TOWN – The Human Innovation Project has announced that it will be launching a song called “Kindness Contagion” as a call to action from Africa to spread kindness around the world during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The rampant spread of the Covid-19 pandemic across the globe cuts across borders, gender, race and class lines.

“Amidst the fear and uncertainty, it has also given us an opportunity to reflect and come together as a global community united in our fight against the pandemic,” HIP said in a statement.

The rapid spread of Covid-19 has affected millions of people across the globe. There are currently around 5 million cases of infection worldwide, with about 2 million recoveries and some 325,000 deaths, according to real-time data portal Worldometer.

HIP’s project is being run in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which called on creatives to respond to the pandemic.

According to HIP, African collaborators and partners are keen to be part of the project, which has brought together top artists from South Africa, Ghana, Cape Verde, Uganda, Cameroon, Mozambique, Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya, among others.

The pan-African anthem and video will be launched globally on Africa Day, May 25.

HIP said the song is rooted in the African values of friendship, generosity, sharing and togetherness, and aims to encourage and inspire acts of kindness and the notion of paying it forward.

It will be available for download on various platforms at no cost, and artists will not claim any proceeds from the song, thereby making it the project’s first act of kindness.

All funds raised from the song will go towards supporting African artists who have suffered losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will be distributed in South Africa by several entities, who are already running a fund for this purpose.

The distribution of funds in the rest of Africa will be managed by the Music in Africa Foundation (MIAF), a non-profit pan-African organisation with operations across Africa.

Artists will record their content independently from their locations with the support of MusicDay2.org and Molotov Content Creators. 

The song was composed by South African music producer RJ Benjamin and arranged and produced by Gabi le Roux and Camillo Lombard with lyrics by Michael Lee and Tu Nokwe.

The UNDP will use the song in its campaigns to encourage the spread of kindness, and will contribute images from the United Nation Covid-19 call to creatives.

Additionally, the UNDP will support publicity and distribution of the work around the world, with Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) and MIAF sharing it with their local, regional and global networks.

HIP has called upon all Africans across the continent, and the rest of the world, to share this message of hope, support and solidarity and spread kindness across the globe.

African News Agency