The Nile Project at Boston University.

The Nile Project

Forget about the Charles River. This week, everyone’s going to be buzzing about the Nile River.

The Nile Project, a collaborative enterprise that combines music, education, and leadership and innovation programs to promote sustainability of the Nile River’s ecosystem, begins a five-day residency on campus today. The BU Arts Initiative, in conjunction with the African Studies Center (ASC), the College of Fine Arts School of Music, and World Music/CRASHarts is sponsoring the visit, which will include panel discussions, educational workshops, and musical performances.

Founded in 2011 by Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis and Ethiopian-American singer Meklit Hadero, the Nile Project is a collective of 27 musicians from 7 of the 11 countries in the Nile basin, a region that has been marred by political and ecological conflicts over water resources along the Nile River. Through music and educational programs aimed at university students, the project uses music to create an interdisciplinary dialogue about the future of the Nile ecosystem, a goal that aligns with BU Arts Initiative objectives. “Art is a mechanism for communication,” says Ty Furman, Arts Initiative managing director. “This is just a very exciting example of how someone or a group of someones is using art to change lives in Africa.”

More: BU Today (Boston University)