Reggae heroine Rita Marley to be honoured in Malawi

Legendary Jamaican reggae heroine Rita Marley, wife of the legend himself Bob Marley, will be in Malawi from Saturday to receive an African Diaspora honour. ”Yes, we are all excited about it, Rita Marley will be in Malawi this Saturday,” said Alvin Singh of the African Communications Agency (ACA) who are hosting the seventh annual African International Media Summit from November 17th to 18th at the Bingu International Conference Centre in the capital, Lilongwe.

Singh said the “Harambe” hit maker will – alongside Malawi President Joyce Banda – be honoured on Sunday with the “Living Legends Banquet”. ”The honourees are chosen by the by an international panel that look at how the honourees have represented the African Diaspora,” he said. Past honourees include pop legend Stevie Wonder, boxing legend Muhammad Ali and Brazilian soccer legend Pele.

According to a statement issued Thursday by ACA in Accra, Ghana, this year’s African International Media Summit’s theme is “I AM AFRICAN” in tune with the African Union (AU) new campaign launch encouraging participation in the global initiative.

ACA, according to the statement, has this year partnered with the Malawi government, the AU and the Diaspora Africa Forum to focus attention and action specifically on African descendants, who are, worldwide, most vulnerable to racism, economic discrimination and xenophobia.

“We are delighted to host the 7th AIMS summit in the beautiful country of Malawi with some of the friendliest people in the world,” said Ambassador Erieka Bennett of the African Union African Diaspora Forum.

The two day event will bring together entrepreneurs and media professionals along with government officials, individuals and organisations throughout the Diaspora in order to facilitate discussion about rebranding the image of the continent of Africa, according to ACA. Major media stakeholders at the event, including representatives from CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters and AP, will discuss “their roles and responsibilities in helping promote a positive image of the Continent.”

ACA was established in 1997 under the leadership of Dr. Bamanga Tukur and Dr. Erieka Bennett in a bid “to ensure that Africa is portrayed in a positive light throughout mainstream media”.