Senegalese Music to Raise Coronavirus Awareness

How have African countries managed the global pandemic of Covid-19? What is the rule that artists have played in raising awareness of it? In this activity, we zoom in Senegal.

Join Dr Estrella Sendra, Lecturer in Film and Screen Studies at SOAS, in conversation with Senegalese rapper Keyti. Together, they will share an overview of the 23 Coronavirus-themed songs composed, sung and widely disseminated songs by Senegalese musicians in the first wave of the pandemic.

This prompt creative encouraged the President of Senegal to commission a song featuring several musicians, then released by the social media platforms of the Ministry of Health and Social Action.

They will play various clips from some of these songs, illustrating the efficient communication campaign through 'edutaining' messages, combining education and information.

This online conversation seeks to share the research outputs of a project funded by the SOAS Seed Corn Fund, which led to the co-authored article ‘Use of Senegalese Music to Raise Coronavirus Awareness on Social Media’, to be published in the forthcoming Volume 14, Issue 1, of the Journal of African Media Studies, as part of the special issue ‘Media and the Corona Pandemic in Africa’, 14(1).

The event, hosted by Estrella Sendra, is part of the MA Global Media Management (University of Southampton) curated programme 'Activism and Resilience', for the University of Southampton Human Worlds Festival.

More information can be found on the Southampton Arts and Humanities Festival website . Free tickets can be booked via Eventbrite .