AllAfrica: Celebrating 'We Are the World' - Today

CAPE TOWN, South Africa and DAKAR, Senegal, April 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-eight years ago this month, dozens of popular musicians "checked their egos at the door" of a Los Angeles studio to record 'We Are the World' (WATW) - generating over $75 million for famine relief.

Now AllAfrica and USA for Africa invite you to join artists and entertainers in a two-year initiative in advance of the 30th anniversary of the iconic song, which played simultaneously on 8000 radio stations on 5 April, 1985 and was a number-one hit in both the United States and United Kingdom.

Websites have permission and rights to use the five-minute launch video and broadcasters may use it for radio and television. The video includes interviews with Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Harry Belafonte and Salim Amin, whose father's reporting from Ethiopia sparked WATW.

The video is available here. A larger HD broadcast version can be downloaded here.

If you notify us that you use it anytime this month, we will prominently credit you on allAfrica.com and through our worldwide distribution network.

We will work with you and your institution to facilitate discussions and events around the critical issues facing Africa over the next two years. African artists and thought leaders will spearhead a broad dialogue leading to engagement activities - both on mobile devices and in your communities.

Your participation can benefit your operations by

• local and global publicity and greater audience engagement for your activities;
• increased search visibility that builds your brand; and
• association with public-service causes and the celebrities who promote them.

Over the next two years, you will be able to use this initiative as a platform for promoting your diverse programs and your activities. The uniting theme will be how all of us can make the 'We Are the World' spirit a reality - all around us - today.

AllAfrica's reporting for this initiative in 2013 will focus on four areas where enormous progress to save lives is within reach: reducing maternal mortality; promoting food security and child nutrition; fighting malaria, TB and HIV; and eliminating polio.

You can initiate a range of actions to spotlight your own goals through this effort. Among planned actions are choral submissions, celebrity-led community actions, museum-based activities and classroom competitions.

What you can do now:

• Download 'We Are the World' from iTunes, which generates funds for USA for Africa's work. For more information, visit USA for Africa and its Facebook page.
• Visit allAfrica.com to sign up for information about upcoming projects and ways to promote your cause.

About AllAfrica

AllAfrica is a pan-African digital pioneer – a voice from, for and about Africa – that has become widely regarded as the leading source of news and information on Africa, with editorial headquarters in Cape Town and offices in Nairobi, Dakar, Monrovia and Washington DC. In cooperation with over 150 African news organizations, AllAfrica posts 2000 articles daily, plus multi-media content from diverse sources. AllAfrica reaches tens of millions of people through allAfrica.com and through agreements with African and global content providers, including African media companies and international information services.

About USA for Africa

In 1985, the music industry and the world came together in an unprecedented outpouring of generosity in response to a tragic famine in the Horn of Africa. The recording of the original 'We Are The World '(WATW) sold more than seven million records worldwide. The sales generated more than $60 million which has been used to assist Africa and Africans affected by the famine and other critical issues. USA for Africa is the organization born out of this effort. In partnership with African organizations, it continues to focus on opportunities to help advance people and communities in Africa.

AllAfrica Contact: Farah Chaudhry <fchaudhry@allafrica.com>

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