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Moving beyond connectivity for SA; unity, opportunity, community


Johannesburg, 12 Dec 2018
Big Dreamz and Mikhale Jones and dancers performing ConnectUnity.
Big Dreamz and Mikhale Jones and dancers performing ConnectUnity.

Huawei South Africa has released a song and music video for a corporate campaign called 'ConnectUnity: Moving beyond connectivity for South Africa'. The catchy dance tune and music video, created, produced and performed by talented young South Africans, was revealed at a function held at the global ICT solutions provider's southern African headquarters in Woodmead, Johannesburg.

Huawei SA CEO Spawn Fan said Huawei was known for its technology, but the company wanted to highlight what connectivity meant beyond technology. "Connectivity has a transformative power to bring opportunity, build communities and promote unity needed to build a brighter future for South Africa and Africa."

Fan added that ConnectUnity was inspired by President Cyril Ramaphosa's Thuma Mina call to action.

"We wanted to do more outside our ICT investment, so ConnectUnity is about showcasing the value connectivity brings to every life it touches. We want to encourage the spirit and power of togetherness."

Huawei Creative Director Xavier Wong says a song was a natural choice for the South African campaign, because music is such a uniting force. "South Africans love music and dance and so a song was an ideal tool for the ConnectUnity message; apart from the song and music video, it can be shared as a ringtone and download, played at events. It also has a universal appeal."

Speaking at the event, Minister of Communications for South Africa, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, stressed the importance of extending connectivity and access to all South Africans so they can become a part of a dialogue.

Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams speaking at Huawei's ConnectUnity launch.
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams speaking at Huawei's ConnectUnity launch.

"The keyword is unity. How do we make sure that in our diversity, we find what is important and what unites us? One thing that is crucial is that you have to create dialogue. For people to be meaningfully involved in that dialogue, they need to be connected. We want people to be able to provide solutions to their own challenges."

The song, ConnectUnity, was produced by producer/rapper Big Dreamz and features up-and-coming female vocalist Mikhale Jones. Grammy-nominated producer and audio engineer Mazwe Mtetwa collaborated on the track. The music video was produced by multimedia agency, Cut2Black, on location in Johannesburg. The song and music video are available on www.huawei.com/minisite/connectunity/za/ or on

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Fan added that while South Africa was embarking on its journey to the fourth industrial revolution, Huawei was able help accelerate the pace by using its global expertise, resource and partners within the ICT ecosystem.

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Huawei

Established in 1999, Huawei South Africa serves all South African mainstream telcos, and provides ICT business solutions to government and enterprises. It also has a strong presence in the consumer market, with world-class smartphones/devices, such as the P20 and Mate 20 series.

Huawei's vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent world. It believes in universal access to connectivity, because connectivity can be an enabler: creating unity, developing opportunity, building community.

Huawei South Africa actively contributes to local communities, with initiatives like innovation and training centres, SME development and student scholarships, just to name a few. Huawei employs over 1 000 staff at its headquarters in Woodmead, Johannesburg, and has created over 5 000 ICT jobs through sub-contractors.

2019 marks Huawei's 20th anniversary in South Africa and Africa. It is working with its partners to bridge the digital divide by expanding mobile/data networks, innovating solutions for business and enterprise, investing in SME development and in developing ICT talent.

Globally, Huawei is the world's leading ICT solutions provider. Driven by responsible operations, ongoing innovation and open collaboration, Huawei's ICT portfolio includes solutions for telecommunications and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing.

For more information, please visit Huawei online at: http://www.huawei.com/za/.

Editorial contacts

Vanashree Govender
Cloud Summit 2019
vanashreegovender@huawei.com