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Call for contestants for the Radio France International Discoveries award

Wednesday July 01 2020
kirya

Maurice Kirya is a previous winner of the RFI discovery award. PHOTO | FILE

By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI

Musicians from East Africa can apply for the 2020 Radio France International Discoveries (RFI) Discovery Music Award (Prix Découverte).

The prestigious competition is open to musicians and genres from Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean.

Submissions are open through an online application form or on the RFI website.

The deadline for submissions is July 31.

The overall winner will take home a grand cash prize of 10,000 euros ($11,200). The winner will also tour Africa, perform at a concert in Paris, benefit from media exposure from RFI and its partners, and get airplay on the station, which could lead to time on other radios worldwide.

This year’s jury is made up of Youssou N’Dour, Angélique Kidjo, Richard Bona, Fally Ipupa, Singuila, Charlotte Dipanda, A’Salfo, Kery James and Jacob Desvarieux.

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The prize is organised in partnership with the Institut Français, l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music and Ubiznews.

The contest, which was started in 1981, seeks to discover and promote new musical talent from the African continent.

The competition has boosted the careers of many artistes such as Naby (Senegal), Mounira Mitchala (Chad), Belo (Haiti), Manuel Lopes Andrade aka Tcheka (Cape Verde), Rokia Traore (Mali), Tiken Jah Fakoly (Ivory Coast), Maurice Kirya (Uganda), Yvan Buravan (Rwanda), Didier Awadi (Senegal), Soul Bang’s (Guinea), M’Bouillé Koité (Mali), Céline Banza (DR Congo), and blind Malian couple Amadou and Mariam, among others.

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