AKON, RUSSELL SIMMONS, CHIEF OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, FOR MTV MEETS WITH MTN SEASON 2
Wednesday, June 20, 2012Omoba
MTV Base
Meets...with MTN returns to television screens
across Africa on 1 August 2012 on the back of a highly successful first season that
saw African youth make positive life-changing decisions after meeting their heroes
on the show.
First initiated in 2011, MTV Base Meets…with MTN is a
motivational youth empowerment and mentorship initiative and multimedia
campaign that connect African youth with the thought leaders, opinion formers,
decision makers and role models who shape their world.
Sponsored by Africa’s leading mobile
operator, MTN, Season 2 of MTV
Base Meets…With MTN features an exciting and varied line-up of
interviewees, including leading figures from the realms of entertainment,
politics, fashion and sport, hand-picked to inspire African youth to fulfil
their full potential. Among the opinion formers and thought leaders
taking part in the series is Senegalese-American R&B and Hip-Hop
artist Akon, alongside other world-famous personalities including
Hip-Hop pioneer and entrepreneur, Russell Simmons, South Sudanese supermodel Alek Wek, You +1'd this
publicly. (other name other His
Excellency Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo, former President & Head of State, Nigeria, and
Togolese international soccer star and Manchester City striker, Emmanuel Adebayor.
In each episode of MTV Base Meets…with MTN,
ambitious young Africans from all walks-of-life pose hard questions to high-profile
“thought leaders” about issues close to their hearts – in an intimate and
informal environment, with no questions off-limits. Topics on the agenda
include entrepreneurship, education, youth culture, politics, sport, racism,
gender issues and the African Renaissance.
Youth panellists who asked the
questions in Season 1 of MTV
Base Meets...with MTN included students, journalists, bloggers,
models, comedians, actors, musicians, humanitarian campaigners and poets.
The series inspired young entrepreneurs from around the African continent to
change their lives after meeting with their heroes.
Liberian-born singer Jerrilyn Mulbah was inspired
by Nigerian businessman Aliko
Dangote to echo his 18-hour a day work ethic. Subsequently,
Jerrilyn saw her career take off, with three successful singles getting great
traction on radio in Nigeria and Liberia, and a new music videodue for release
at the end of June. Jerrilyn’sfirst album release follows soon, and her
firstnational tour of Nigeria is due to be announced in the coming
months.
South African event organiser Sizie Modise was one of a
group of young people who met with Ben Murray-Bruce of the Silverbird Group. She made such
an impression on Murray-Bruceduring the interview that the media mogul offered
her a job.
Ghanaian Arnold Sarfo-Kantanka met
with British entrepreneur and humanitarianSir Richard Bransonas part of the series and afterwards
decided to concentrate full-time on helping young Ghanaians achieve their full
potential through his role as the Operations Director of youth outreach
project, WAM Campaign,
and fashion line, Ma FIRI
Ghana.
Season 2 of MTV Base Meets…with MTN, hosted
by MTV VJs Sizwe Dhlomoand Vanessa Mdee, will air across Africa from 1 August
on MTV Base (DSTV Channel 322) and on terrestrial stations across the
continent, including STV and NTA (Nigeria), Spectrum TV (Cameroon), Viasat
(Ghana), Rwanda TV (Rwanda), Swazi TV (Swaziland), Muvi TV (Zambia) and NTV and
WBS(Uganda).
The first of nine episodes of MTV Base Meets…with MTN will be a
22-minute ‘Best Of’ episode, featuring highlights from Season 1, that will
broadcast on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322) on Wednesday 1 August at 20:30
CAT. Season 2 will then get into full swing with the premiere of MTV Base Meets Russell Simmons with MTN at
19:30 WAT/20:30 CAT on Wednesday 8 August.
Starting 18 June 2012, MTV Base and
MTN will run a pan-African competition offering young African viewers the
chance to appear in the final episode of MTV Base Meets…with MTN. Eight young people will win
an all-expenses paid trip to meet withAkonin
the USA in September 2012.
The first season of MTV Base Meets…with MTN saw
Nobel Prize laureate and President of Liberia, Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, go head-to-head with the
continent’s youth in Monrovia, while Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame faced a youth panel in
Kigali. The other six opinion formers who laid themselves open for the
probing questions of their young questioners include Grammy-winning R&B
artist Alicia Keys,
controversial South African politician Julius Malema and legendary musician and activist Hugh Masekela.
Speaking on behalf of MTV Base, Alex
Okosi, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Viacom International
Media Networks Africa, commented, “In today’s competitive business and economic
environment, it is vitally important to provide strong role models, heroes and
mentors to help young people achieve their goals. MTV Base Meets…with MTN aims
to inspire and motivate young Africans to understand that they are key drivers
in ensuring a brighter future for our continent.”
Commented Jennifer Roberti, Executive
for Group Marketing, MTN, "MTN got involved with this initiative last year
at a time when there was a real need to bring youth and leaders together in
open dialogue and debate. We still believe in the transformative power of
giving young people on the continent this kind of forum. As the leaders of
tomorrow,it's not always about finding agreement. Sometimes questioning
andchallenging can be just as educational and inspiring. As MTN, we believe
that when we connectpeople and ideas, we are creating platforms for better
understanding and acommon ground."
According to Kola Oyeyemi, GM,
Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, the initiative will serve as a bridge for a
growing segment of Africa’s population to connect with decision-makers through
dialogue: “MTN is investing in this initiative with the hope of empowering
African youth by bringing them together with notable leaders both within and
outside the continent. This is another way that MTN is enriching lives, this
time around by linking the youth with key influencers who will inspire them to
reach for greater heights. It is also important for big brands to co-operate in
forging leadership,” he said.
Commentingon her participation in the
Meets campaign, Alek Wek said, “It was such a great day, meeting a group of
young people who are both inspirationaland working hard to make positive
changes.”
To learn more about MTV Base Meets…with MTN, or to
view clips from Season 1, please go to www.mtvmeets.comorwww.mtvmeets.mobi.Connect
with the campaign on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MTVMEETS or
join the conversation on Twitter at#MTVMEETS.
Tweet About it: «Check out Season 2 of inspirational youth empowerment campaign #MTVMeets
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