Music In Africa Management Board re-elected at 2nd AGM

The 2nd Annual General Meeting of the Music In Africa Foundation, held in Johannesburg on 27 November 2014, elected the same Management Board elected at the inaugural AGM in 2013.

The only change was on the position of the Deputy chairperson, which is now assumed by Aisha Deme from Senegal. Aisha was previously in charge of communications.  The position of deputy chair was previously assumed by Andre Le Roux.

These are the current Board members:

Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse (DRC) – Chairperson

Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse has worked as a journalist for Radio Okapi, a media initiated by the Hirondelle Foundation and the UN Stabilization Mission in DRC. He has also worked as an assistant in the Faculty of Social communication at the Catholic University of Congo. He holds a M.A. in Culture and Media Management from Senghor University in Alexandria (Egypt). He has done an internship as research assistant at the Critical World Virtual Research Laboratory on music and globalization at the University of Montreal (Canada), where he developed a website devoted to the promotion of his country's music industry. The project is fully explained in his book, published in 2010. Currently, he conducts field research on the influence of TV shows on music and the identities of youth in Kinshasa.

Aisha Deme (Senegal) – Deputy Chaiperson

Aicha Deme is the co-founder and manager of Agendakar.com, a portal exclusively dedicated to promote and showcase Senegalese art. She has a strong passion for art and culture and is very connected to operators in Senegal’s diverse arts scene. She is involved in numerous cultural projects in Senegal. Aicha graduated in computer sciences at the Dakar Superior Polytechnic School and is a former bank employee. She soon realized that her passion for cultural exchange was greater. She loves her city and her heart beats with the rhythm of its art and culture.

Belisa Rodrigues (South Africa) - Treasurer

Belisa Rodrigues is General Manager of the African Arts Institute (AFAI), where for the last four years she has been involved in developing creative and cultural industries by building capacity through training initiatives and developing markets for African creative goods and services in partnership with like-minded institutions across Africa. Belisa has an honours degree in Fine Art and a postgraduate degree in Management (Marketing). Belisa has worked on various independent art projects, curating several exhibitions and was Operations Manager for a fast-moving consumer goods entity for two years. During her MBA year (2008) she was awarded the Old Mutual Gold Medal award at the Graduate School of Business, UCT. She extended her MBA studies at Esade Business School in Barcelona, where she took up additional courses in Creative Problem Solving and Social Entrepreneurship. She loves music and played the violin in a band for several years.

Bill Odidi (Kenya) - Communication And Membership

Bill Odidi is a Radio Producer at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) in Nairobi, where he is currently the Head of the English Service Radio. He is also a newsreader on KBC Channel One TV. He has over 10 years’ experience in both print and electronic media, having trained as a journalist in Kenya, India and Egypt. In 2006 he participated in a work experience programme with the BBC Africa Service in London. He also worked as a presenter and producer for Radio France International on the arts programme Bonjour Culture from 2009 to 2011. He has a weekly column on music and art in the Business Daily newspaper and also writes for various websites including Africareview.com and thisisafrica.me. Bill is also a board member of Ketebul Music, an independent production outfit based in Nairobi and has directed two documentaries: Retracing Kenya’s Funky Hits and Retracing Kenya’s Songs of Social and Political Protest.

Henrike Grohs (Ivory Coast) -  International Partnerships, Donors, & Funders

Henrike Grohs is head of the Goethe-Institut in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. From 2008 to 2013, she was in charge of programmes in the field of culture and development for the Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg, the regional office for sub-Saharan Africa. In this position she was involved in the conceptualization of the Music In Africa portal. Trained as a social anthropologist, she has lived in various African countries working on projects related to arts and culture. Since 1999 she worked as cultural manager through her agency Next-Intercultural projects for various cultural institutions in and out of Germany with a focus on intercultural exchange, especially for the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin. From 2002 Henrike Grohs worked for the education department of the Berliner Philharmoniker. She also taught for several years at the Institute of Art in Context, University of Fine Arts in Berlin (UdK) on cultural mediation and management.

Jens Cording (Germany) - International Partnerships, Donors, & Funders

Jens Cording is a certified music teacher; the violin was his first instrument. He has played in various orchestras and ensembles, and also worked as a teacher. He studied culture management at the University of Music and Theatre in Hamburg. During his studies he engaged in the marketing of cultural activities for senior citizens, planning events and time management. Since 1993 he was the Project Manager Music of the Siemens Arts Program, where he has conceptualized and realized projects and concerts in Europe, Asia and the USA. Since 2010 he is the Project Manager Culture of the newly founded Siemens Stiftung in Munich and initiates music programs in China, Germany and sub-Saharan Africa. Jens has also been a member of the executive committee and strategic board of the German Music Council, chairperson of the Federal Panel of New Music Experts, as well as member of the Advisory Committee of the German Federal Cultural Foundation since 2003. He served as president of the German section of the Society for Contemporary Music between 2002 and 2011.

Seta Ramaroson (Madagascar) - Education

Seta Ramaroson is a cultural manager working mainly in the domain of music and photography. He is a freelance artistic director for music events and recording projects. He manages a gospel choir, a jazz combo and a young saxophone ensemble. As a performer, he plays the saxophone in various local bands, covering both traditional and modern genres. He dedicates the majority of his time to music education. He is the Director of Music at the Liturgy, Music and Multimedia (LMM) Institute, a department of the Reformed University of Madagascar. The institute has developed a programme for teaching by applying Western notation to local music and is currently building a venue for music classes. He is also a keen photographer, known for his photos of artists and cultural events.

Andre Le Roux (South Africa)

Andre Le Roux is the Managing Director of the Southern African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO) Foundation and, past chairman of the Moshito Music Conference & Exhibition and the South African Coalition for Cultural Diversity. He also serves as a board member of the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, Business & Arts South Africa and is the Chairman of the Arterial Network’s South African chapter. He has worked as an arts administrator for more than 20 years at local, national and international level. His experience ranges from grassroots level on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape, to provincial level for the Eastern Cape Government, National and International level for the National Department of Arts & Culture and the National Arts Council among others. He has a passion for the arts, influencing cultural policy and growing strong cultural institutions.