Two music related Kickstarter campaigns deserve your attention.

The above video is from The Nile Project, a campaign put together by Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis, and Ethiopian-American singer Meklit Hadero. Meklit and Mina, based in San Francisco, are raising money to complete an international music collaboration based around the cultures of the Nile River. They’ve already lined up an impressive series of events including a floating band, a TED X event, and a world touring show, but they need your help to begin on their scouting trip to recruit musicians. Visit their page to donate.

Already almost funded is the Radio Tanzania project, focused on the Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation in Dar es Salaam. In conjunction with Tanzania’s celebration of their 50th year of independence, the state radio station is digitizing their archives to preserve Tanzanian cultural and political history. The campaign will also help fund a documentary about the preservation process including interviews with historical Tanzanian cultural figures.

And if you’re still looking for something to give to, don’t forget that Sorie Kondi is still trying to get to SXSW in Austin, Texas!

Further Reading

Kwame Nkrumah today

New documents looking at British and American involvement in overthrowing Kwame Nkrumah give us pause to reflect on his legacy, and its resonances today.

Goodbye, Piassa

The demolition of an historic district in Addis Ababa shows a central contradiction of modernization: the desire to improve the country while devaluing its people and culture.