Singer Nneka Becomes African Women's Development Funds Ambassador

Nigerian soul singer Nneka Egbuna has been appointed African women's development funds Ambassador (AWDF) for the arts .

The announcement was made by AWDF's Interim CEO, Theo Sowa on feb.16,2012 at an event held in accra ghana as part of its 10th anniversary and to welcome the musician and activist as AWDF's Ambassador for the Arts.

The CEO explained why AWDF’s new strategic plan included ‘Arts, Culture and Sports’ as a new grant making thematic area, “Art can touch the souls as well as the minds of countless people, inspiring passion, anger, joy and other emotions that can catalyse action in ways that court cases and academic lectures and even protest marches may never achieve… Arts – traditional or modern – are integral to our cultural lives… and changes in social, economic and political arenas will never truly take root without parallel changes in our cultural norms, beliefs and practices…we can and must leverage the transformational power of the arts if we are to achieve and to accelerate real social change.”

Speaking on her role as AWDF’s Ambassador for the Arts, Nneka stated, “Being AWDF’s Ambassador for the Arts is another way for me to get my message out. Being AWDF’s Ambassador compliments my music. This is also a way of sharing my music and raising awareness of issues affecting women. My music raises awareness about critical social issues, which are the same issues that AWDF works on.”

AWDF was founded 11 years ago by three inspirational women – Hilda Tadria, Joanna Foster and Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, who was also AWDF’s founding Executive Director until last year.