Tunis — The Palais des Sports d'el Menzah was the venue Friday night for a form of exercise rarely practiced there: dancing.
Renowned musicians from across the African continent, including Youssou Ndour, Keziah Jones and Angelique Kidjo, performed at a 'Africa Celebrates Democracy' concert in the Tunisian capital organised by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
After an eventful year of dramatic change in many countries, there is cause for celebration. And what better place than Tunisia, which launched the first uprising of what has come to be called the 'Arab spring' - although Mo Ibrahim calls it the 'African spring'.
The performances of the evening were in many ways a soundtrack of the revolution as various Tunisian artists took to the stage to perform against a background of powerful images from the months of protests.
"Music of the revolution" by Armada Bizerta, a hip hop crew, was an anthem for the demonstrations. When Armada Bizerta took the stage to perform, it was immediately obvious why this was the case,
Badiaa Bouhrizi, a singer/songwriter whose music combines passionate socio-political convictions with beautiful melodies, sang with an enchanting presence. And Bendir Man, a satirical singer/songwriter, got the Tunisian crowd passionately singing to melodies they clearly had sung many times before, in very different circumstances.
It is said that the language of music is universal, and this has never been so clear for me as it was at the concert. One did not have to understand the lyrics of the songs to feel and understand the passion of the Tunisians gathered. It was almost tangible as they danced, sung and celebrated, some proudly waving their national flag.
The event was hosted by the legendary Angelique Kidjo, singer, songwriter and activist from Benin, along with Lotfi Abedeli, a Tunisian actor, dancer and comedian. Abedeli had the crowd in stitches. Although I speak no Arabic, I too found myself laughing along with the rest of the crowd, admittedly with the aid of my new Tunisian friend, who was kind enough to translate.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
While the concert paid tribute to Tunisian youth and the revolution that inspired the world, it also raised money for youth programmes at the Tunisian Red Crescent, which will receive proceeds from the event.
As the concert was drawing to a close, Mo Ibrahim went on stage to celebrate with the performing artists. Seeing him there, I thought back to his recent AllAfrica interview in which he expressed full faith that Africa is going to move forward because of young people.
He said young Africans are changing the face of Africa, and, as I looked around at the concert crowd, I could not help but feel this resonate.
As a proud citizen of Kenya, where my generation is struggling to see that the reforms in our new constitution are implemented, it was encouraging to be with young Tunisians, who are determined to see that the constitution their new government develops is one that guarantees responsive government.
Last night suggested that we are all part of a growing pan-African movement for Africa's future.
