Benefitting country(ies): Kenya, Somalia

Overview:

Before the civil war Somalia enjoyed a vibrant cultural life, in which traditional performing arts played a major role. Aware of the role that cultural practices may play in fostering social cohesion and in reconciliation processes in future post-conflict Somalia, the project aims to

• identify traditional performing arts practices of Somali people with a view to safeguarding this heritage,
• highlight the role that cultural practices can play in reconciliation process for the post conflict Somalia, and
• contribute to the rehabilitation of Somali culture.

Core activities of the project include:

• the identification of traditional performing arts of Somali communities in the North Eastern Province in Kenya;
• the preparation of a draft inventory of those traditions; and
• the acquisition of extant audiovisual materials related to traditional performing arts of Somali people.

01/04/2008 - 01/03/2009 – Safeguarding the Songs of the Moon, traditional Swahili music from Tanzania (Unguja and Pemba) and the Comoros01/11/2005 - 01/01/2009 – Action plan for the safeguarding of the Song of Saana