Berlin-based community radio station and fundraising platform, Refuge Worldwide, are kicking off a collaboration project in May with Jordanian community radio Zaatari Radio and will be joining forces to build a new community studio and deliver four weeks of workshops and talks in Amman.
The 7Hills Skatepark, at the Al-Raseef urban education space in the Jordanian capital, will be the location for a brand new community recording studio in the heart of the city, built in partnership with the local community and the Zaatari Radio crew. The studio will be used to record shows that in the future will be broadcast on both Zaatari and Refuge Worldwide.
The project, ‘Aswat Al Raseef’, which means ‘Sounds Of The Sidewalk’ will celebrate the vibrant culture and diversity of the Arabic metropole, a result of the city’s geopolitical importance as a destination for refugees and migrants from Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Egypt, Nigeria and across the MENA region.
Refuge Worldwide and Zaatari will be working with a number of well-known organisations such as Solidrinks, Ableton, AIAIAI, ADAM Audio, Ocean, Forever Playground and Heels & Souls who will donate the equipment for the studio and will remain as a long-lasting resource at the heart of the 7Hills community.
Artists, musicians and industry experts will be delivering a curriculum of practical workshops on digital, technical and creative radio production skills and will provide guidance over the duration of the project. The project will be specifically targeted at the young marginalised communities of Amman and the participants will produce radio shows examining identity and migration histories in contemporary Amman, utilising sound media to portray life in the city for host, migrant and refugee communities.
Hosts of workshops will include legendary Chilean musician Nicolás Jaar, Palestinian producer, DJ and radio host Nour and the founder of Exist Festival, Palestine ODDZ (aka Odai Masri). Industry figures from the MENA region and representatives from Refuge Worldwide, Radio Zaatari and Arabic music magazine Ma3azef will deliver talks that will be open to the public.
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