International Jazz Day was declared an international day in 2011 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role in uniting people across the globe. It is celebrated annually on 30th April. Botswana Society of Jazz Education (BOSJE) will this year spearhead the International Jazz Day celebrations intended to commence with a series of workshops starting on 27th April. The workshops will consist of sessions focusing on jazz history, jazz theory and practical instrument playing. There will also be time for big band rehearsals where all musicians come together and play as a big band including students from invited local schools. Monday 30th April 2018, on the official International Jazz Day, a jazz concert hosted by Botswana Society for Jazz Education will be held at Molapo Crossing for a final celebration. It will take place in the evening from 6pm till 9pm. BOSJE was formed to create a platform for jazz musicians and aspiring jazz musicians to grow and share ideas and even have their work documented. As a society, they have realized the need for jazz education. There is also no documentation of jazz in Botswana which makes it difficult for both the teachers and students when it comes to teaching and learning as there is no local content to refer to. It is also for purposes of funding applications to run workshops and host festivals and exchange programs that they needed to have a legally registered non-profit making entity as this one.
International Jazz Day to be celebrated!
