Today, Global Citizen and pgLang announced Move Afrika: A Global Citizen Experience, an international music touring circuit throughout the continent of Africa. Move Afrika’s first major music event, Move Afrika: Rwanda, will take place on December 6 at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, with Kendrick Lamar performing as its headlining act.

In partnership with the Rwanda Development Board, Kigali, Rwanda will host this experience every year for the next five years, and pgLang will curate the event until 2028. With Move Afrika, Global Citizen will create job and entrepreneurship opportunities for Africa’s emerging generations through an annual series of world-class live events. Showcasing the best of the to the world, these events will drive transformative investments within local communities, engage local artists, vendors, agencies and crews, and provide opportunities for on-the-job skill development and training.

“Our goal with Move Afrika is to inspire local youth and artists to unlock their creativity,” said pgLang in a statement. “We hope to curate an immersive experience that empowers various communities and cultures across Africa and around the world for a lifetime.”

The event will also feature a citizen-led advocacy campaign calling for urgent action and bold commitments from world leaders on major issues across the continent. Key issues include: the need for increased funding for health, with a specific emphasis on women and girls; addressing the climate crisis and its impact on food security; and encouraging civic participation.

“We are delighted to host Global Citizen and to provide a platform for Move Afrikam,” said Francis Gatare, Chief Executive Officer, Rwanda Development Board. “This is a unique collaboration that aims to showcase the best of African creative talent to the world, through curated memorable entertainment experiences that address development priorities of our continent. Creating employment and income generating initiatives of the private sector, with a spotlight on the youth, is Rwanda Development Board’s core mandate. Together with Global Citizen and Move Afrika, we will position Rwanda as an entertainment hub for all African countries to benefit from the global creative industry.”

Since its inception in Australia in 2008, Global Citizen has grown to become the world’s leading advocacy organization and one of the largest, most visible platforms uniting people around the world to call on world leaders to end extreme poverty, defend the planet and address the inequity of women and girls. The organization has taken its action-based live music events and campaigns from New York City to India, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Nigeria, South Africa, Australia, Ghana, and Canada. Over the past 10 years, $43.6 billion in commitments announced on Global Citizen platforms has been deployed, impacting nearly 1.3 billion lives. 

“Africa is driving culture and creativity globally, but the Continent has been left out of the global music touring circuit for too long,” said Hugh Evans, Co-Founder and CEO, Global Citizen. “By moving from one-off events to the sustained commitment of an annual tour, Move Afrika will drive transformative investments across Africa through the pioneering of a world-class touring circuit. Move Afrika will pave the way for many more artists to tour the Continent, while generating new economic opportunities within the entertainment industry for Africa’s booming youth generation.  We are incredibly excited to bring this vision to life with pgLang and Kendrick Lamar, and are grateful for our partnership with the Rwanda Development Board, who shares our belief in this vision.”

For more information, and how to get tickets to this groundbreaking event, head to moveafrika.org.