Message from Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, on Marking ‘World Art Day 2025’ through Our Pan African ‘Art and Fashion with Purpose’ Community and Awards in Partnership with Africa’s First Ladies

Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation during Our Africa TV Program.

I am delighted to mark ‘World Art Day 2025’ as I strongly believe that art, fashion, and media hold immense power in raising awareness and addressing critical social and health issues—ultimately creating a culture shift in the communities. Art and fashion, to me, go far beyond aesthetics or entertainment, they serve as meaningful tools for education and advocacy. With this vision, we have launched many initiatives including our first-ever pan-African TV program, Our Africa by Merck Foundation, which uniquely highlights pressing issues across the continent through the voices of our ‘Fashion and Art with Purpose’ community. Through this one-of-a-kind show and our other unique initiatives, we continue to raise awareness about critical social issues such as Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Ending Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation, Stopping Gender-Based Violence, Women’s Empowerment, and also about health issues like diabetes, hypertension, and much more.

It is very well known that Africa’s creativity reflects its rich heritage, expressed in the form of art, fabrics, music, and storytelling and is carried forward through generations. Hence, we launch these awards annually, with my dear sisters, the African First Ladies who are also the Ambassadors of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”. Through our Awards, we aim to inspire the continent’s youth to use their innate talents to address our important and critical social and health issues, by raising awareness through their creative work at all levels. Also, as a part of the Community Awareness Programs, Merck Foundation has created over 30 songs with many African Artists, in English, French, Portuguese and also local African languages to address critical issues like breaking infertility stigma, empowering women, supporting girl education, ending child marriage, diabetes awareness, promoting a healthy lifestyle, and more. Entries for the Awards can be sent to: submit@merck-foundation.com

To listen to Merck Foundation’s songs and read our storybooks, visit our social media platforms: Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube) and Merck Foundation (Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube).

Merck Foundation, in partnership with The First Ladies of Africa, has also launched 8 Children’s Storybooks in English, French, and Portuguese. We have adapted these storybooks into engaging animation films to reach communities and raise awareness on important issues with an aim of instilling change at grassroot levels.