Launched by Orange, Y’Africa is a 13-episode series to be broadcast across 17 African countries between February 6 to April 30, 2020 and then globally over the summer of 2020.
Y’Africa is a project initiated by Orange with the aim of demonstrating the Group’s commitment to African culture on a continental scale.
The program’s name, Y’Africa is a shortened version of the expression “Africa Ya Ielo”, which means “Today’s Africa” in Lingala.
The series consists of 13 episodes of 26 minutes. Each episode profiles three artists who are involved in African culture today and who have all taken a unique path in life. By blending countries and disciplines, the program shows the artists in their own creative environment. Each one describes their journey, shows their work and guides us through their hometown.
To produce the series, Orange partnered with Fame Productions, which selected the 39 artists from 10 countries – Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Madagascar, DRC, Senegal and Tunisia – under the guidance of Florelle Manda, the Editor-in-Chief, and Dan Assayag, Director and in collaboration with the group’s African subsidiaries.
The artists include painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, choreographers, chefs and designers.
“I’m very proud of this fresh, new concept for showcasing the diversity and wealth of talent in Africa. Orange, as a responsible provider, wishes to promote all cultures, to support and improve the visibility of young talent on the booming African scene”, explains Béatrice Mandine, Executive Director at Orange, in charge of the brand’s communication.
“Orange has had a presence in Africa for a number of years. Our integration in the territories has allowed us to follow the current cultural scene from close quarters and identify the talents of the moment. In this way, the Y’Africa project has supplemented a number of initiatives by Orange focusing on the cultural promotion of Africa, like the Orange Prize for African Boo ks for instance. This was launched last year to promote literary talent on the continent and to support local African publishing”, adds Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa.
“Going to see what’s happening in all those towns, giving artists the chance to speak, show their world – what a great idea! I loved the idea that what we were doing would surprise people just because we were going to show people what we never usually see. On a human level, it’s a continuous, artistic learning process. And it was fascinating because we could be as free as all the artists we were featuring”, reports Dan Assayag, the series director.
“Rumble life”, the original music for the program, was created by Amphibeats who have mixed traditional sounds with electronic arrangements and more urban influences.
The program will be broadcast across 17 African countries – Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Jordan, Liberia, Mali, Morocco, Madagascar, Central African Republic, DRC, Senegal, Sierra Leon and Tunisia – on local channels from February 6 until April 30, 2020.
It will then be dubbed and subtitled into three languages – Arabic, Portuguese and English. The series will be available outside of Africa during the summer of 2020 on Pan-African channels such as TV5 and Monde, on culture channels, documentary channels, discovery channels and some video-on-demand platforms.
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