Kenyan rapper Khaligraph Jones and Nigeria’s Ayra Starr will be the key performers at the Shoke Shoke festival set to take place on the 3rd and 4th of March at the Kenyatta International Convention Center in Nairobi.
Shoke Shoke is a slang inverted wordplay on the Swahili word ‘kesho’ which means tomorrow in English.
In a press statement, the Mwanaume Ni Effort initiative, which is organizing the concert,confirmed that the festival will be the first of its kind in Nairobi with the aim of educating the youth on the importance of of healthy environment and to drive behaviour change among the youth for a sustainable environment.Through the statement, Mr. Baraza Mwabe,the director of Shoke Shoke Festival stressed on the need for citizens to go green.
“We are passionate about both entertainment and the environment. We also believe that the best way to reach Gen Z’s and millennials with the message of sustainability is through music and entertainment. The environment is our home and the more we destroy our home, the more we will suffer the consequences of our actions. Responsible environmental behaviour is our duty as citizens of mother earth. Shoke Shoke aims to move the needle in matters sustainability,” said Baraza Mwabe.
Mwabe added that the entertainment industry as a whole has for a long time been responsible for damaging the environment during festivals and therefore Shoke Shoke festival’s focus will be ensuring they establish a substantial converstaion about environmental sustainability.
At the festival, there will be no single use plastics and there will be recycling points while 10,000 trees will be planted in partnership with Miti Alliance and the Kenya Forest Services to contribute to the government’s Jaza Miti Campaign.