Zim: JMI Global music conference unveils 2023 programme

Hosted by Music Crossroads Zimbabwe, JMI Global is designed to take delegates on a journey of reflection, discovery and learning about the measures being taken by international music communities to build more resilient and sustainable cultural movements that foster creative growth among young people.

The conference was first held in Brussels, Belgium, in 1946. Harare will be the third African city to host the event after Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1998 and 2010, respectively. Other countries that have hosted the conference include Austria, Spain, Croatia, Germany, Canada, Poland, Argentina, Israel, China, Uruguay and the UK, among others.

Activities will include showcases, workshops, panel discussions, keynotes, round-table talks and the JMI Global annual general assembly, which is only open to JMI members. The conference will feature showcases throughout the event at Emagumeni, Manna Resort, Sherwood Golf Club, Gavas Restaurant and Alliance Française.

Confirmed music acts include locals Mokoomba, Yenge Family, Ethno Zimbabwe, Sounds of Africa, DJ Abisha Palmer, DJ King Her, Mary Anibal, the Music Crossroads Choir and DJ Malume. 

​“The combination of panellists is diverse and well-experienced in the various creative and cultural spaces where they operate,” Music Crossroads Zimbabwe director Melody Zambuko told Music In Africa. “There is a unique line-up of entertainment happening at accessible venues across the city in the evenings of the conference week. The concert are open to the public and I urge everyone to come and see what Music Crossroads Zimbabwe and the JMI network is all about. I am sincerely honoured to be living in this moment.”

Music professionals from around the world will share their knowledge in various industry-related topics. They include Eddie Hatitye (Music In Africa Foundation, South Africa), Ouafa Belgacem (Culture Funding Watch, Tunisia), Namakau Star (artist, South Africa), Walter Wanyanya (Jacaranda Music Festival, Zimbabwe), Tamanda Mbendera (The Festivals Institute, Malawi), Brahim El Mazned (Visa For Music, Morocco), Yusuf Mahmoud (Sauti Za Busara Festival, Tanzania), Alexandra Costa (Sustenidos, Brazil), Will Ramsay (Global Music Academy, Germany), Ricardo Van Mildert (MoonJelly, Netherlands), Clive ‘Mono’ Mukundu (artist, Zimbabwe), Trust Mutekwa (mbira specialist, Zimbabwe), Carine Tredgold (gender specialist, Zimbabwe) and Mahsin Basalama (Dhow Countries Music Academy, Tanzania).

The Music In Africa Foundation’s Hatitye will participate in a keynote titled The State of Music in Africa while Belgacem will share her research expertise during her Creative Resource Mobilisation presentation. Wanyanya, a creative and tech culturepreneur based in Harare, is assigned to the Africa Rising topic.

The full programme is available here.