The Weeknd / en The Weeknd backs U of T's bid to launch Ethiopian studies /news/weeknd-backs-u-t-s-bid-launch-north-america-s-first-ethiopian-studies-program <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The Weeknd backs U of T's bid to launch Ethiopian studies </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/20126-08-08-Weeknd-533141116.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=s9Wo1BJL 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/20126-08-08-Weeknd-533141116.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=r46EqeYw 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/20126-08-08-Weeknd-533141116.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=C5wpXwII 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/20126-08-08-Weeknd-533141116.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=s9Wo1BJL" alt="concert photo of The Weeknd"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-08-08T16:52:29-04:00" title="Monday, August 8, 2016 - 16:52" class="datetime">Mon, 08/08/2016 - 16:52</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The Weeknd performs during the 2016 Hangout Music Festival on May 20, 2016 in Gulf Shores, Alabama (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Hangout Music Festival)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/noreen-ahmed-ullah" hreflang="en">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/weeknd" hreflang="en">The Weeknd</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ethiopia" hreflang="en">Ethiopia</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ethiopian-studies" hreflang="en">Ethiopian Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A $50,000 donation from Grammy-award winning star The Weeknd will help the şüŔęĘÓƵ launch&nbsp;Ethiopian studies.&nbsp;</p> <p>Starting in spring 2017 with a course in the ancient – and now largely extinct –&nbsp;language of Ge’ez,&nbsp;the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations is working to build the foremost curriculum for Ethiopian studies here at the şüŔęĘÓƵ.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Ethiopian studies is a great way to enrich our curriculum in African studies because it is one of the great civilizational cultures of Africa and the world,” said Professor <strong>Tim Harrison</strong>, chair of the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>As part of that goal to raise endowment funds, Toronto native Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd, whose parents emigrated from Ethiopia, responded to the call from local Ethiopian leaders to help raise money for the university’s efforts to create Ethiopian studies.&nbsp;</p> <p>The donation was made as part of Bikila Award’s <a href="https://spark.adobe.com/page/GdH6e/">fundraising initiative at U of T's Varsity stadium: Bikila Barefoot Challenge</a>.&nbsp;On Saturday, The Weeknd announced his support for the effort and linked to further information on the initiative and where to make donations. &nbsp;</p> <h2><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/08/06/the-weeknd-donates-50000-to-the-university-of-toronto-to-kick-start-an-ethiopic-studies-program.html">Read the <em>Toronto Star </em>story</a></h2> <p>“He’s our community’s hero,” said Tessema Mulegata, president of the Bikila Award organization.“We’re really surprised. We’re grateful for what he’s done.</p> <p>“This was a unique opportunity for the community to partner with this prestigious institution, the şüŔęĘÓƵ, and he responded to our call.”</p> <p>Harrison says with The Weeknd’s gift, the university will be close to reaching its goal of raising $200,000 in endowment funds to start the curriculum, which will begin with a course in Ge’ez. Like Latin, Ge’ez is used in liturgical services&nbsp;–&nbsp;in this case for the Ethiopian Orthodox and Catholic churches.&nbsp;</p> <p>Besides being a foundational language for Ethiopian studies, the Ge’ez course, which will be cross-listed with the Centre for Medieval Studies, will allow students in other programs to compare the language with other Semitic languages.&nbsp;</p> <p>The fundraising began in 2015 with a $50,000 donation from <a href="https://soundcloud.com/planetartsci/episode-9-medieval-chivalry-rock-cut-churches-and-the-ancient-language-of-geez">Professor <strong>Michael Gervers</strong></a>&nbsp;of U of T's history department,&nbsp;who has taught courses in Ethiopian history at U of T&nbsp;Scarborough.</p> <p>Gervers said The Weeknd's gift has really helped Ethiopian studies at U of T get closer to reality.</p> <p>“Practically everyone in the world under the age of 30 knows about The Weeknd,”&nbsp;Gervers said. “That single donation has raised the visibility of the whole project enormously.”</p> <h2><a href="/news/famous-lomax-recordings-ethiopias-stone-cutters-and-their-rock-hewn-churches">Read more about Gervers</a></h2> <p>The Faculty of Arts &amp; Science has also contributed $50,000, and Bikila, named for Ethiopian Olympic hero Abebe Bikila, helped raise the remaining funds.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n7XVoTJfVvs" width="560"></iframe></p> <p>With the Kingdom of Aksum, considered a contemporary of the Greek and Roman civilizations, the ancient African nation had its own script and coins. It ruled modern-day northern Ethiopia and Eritrea as a major naval and trading power from the 1st to the 7th centuries AD.&nbsp;</p> <p>Already, the university’s libraries have acquired extensive source materials, and Gervers has helped to digitally capture images of the contents of numerous ancient manuscripts and books. Many of the literature remains undiscovered in caves and old monasteries throughout Ethiopia.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s an untold story,” said Mulegata. “There’s more to be discovered. There’s lessons for today’s world: we can learn a lot about how this ancient civilization was able to have different religions live together in harmony.”</p> <p><img alt="image of text" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__1656 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-08-08-ethiopian-embed2.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 431px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 08 Aug 2016 20:52:29 +0000 lanthierj 99930 at