The Weeknd / en The Weeknd backs 老司机直播'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 老司机直播'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">老司机直播 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 University of Toronto launch&nbsp;Ethiopian studies.&nbsp;</p> <p>Starting in spring 2017 with a course in the ancient 鈥 and now largely extinct 鈥&nbsp;language of Ge鈥檈z,&nbsp;the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations is working to build the foremost curriculum for Ethiopian studies here at the University of Toronto.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淓thiopian 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,鈥 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鈥檚 efforts to create Ethiopian studies.&nbsp;</p> <p>The donation was made as part of Bikila Award鈥檚 <a href="https://spark.adobe.com/page/GdH6e/">fundraising initiative at 老司机直播'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>鈥淗e鈥檚 our community鈥檚 hero,鈥 said Tessema Mulegata, president of the Bikila Award organization.鈥淲e鈥檙e really surprised. We鈥檙e grateful for what he鈥檚 done.</p> <p>鈥淭his was a unique opportunity for the community to partner with this prestigious institution, the University of Toronto, and he responded to our call.鈥</p> <p>Harrison says with The Weeknd鈥檚 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鈥檈z. Like Latin, Ge鈥檈z is used in liturgical services&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;in this case for the Ethiopian Orthodox and Catholic churches.&nbsp;</p> <p>Besides being a foundational language for Ethiopian studies, the Ge鈥檈z 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 老司机直播's history department,&nbsp;who has taught courses in Ethiopian history at 老司机直播&nbsp;Scarborough.</p> <p>Gervers said The Weeknd's gift has really helped Ethiopian studies at 老司机直播 get closer to reality.</p> <p>鈥淧ractically everyone in the world under the age of 30 knows about The Weeknd,鈥&nbsp;Gervers said. 鈥淭hat single donation has raised the visibility of the whole project enormously.鈥</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鈥檚 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>鈥淚t鈥檚 an untold story,鈥 said Mulegata. 鈥淭here鈥檚 more to be discovered. There鈥檚 lessons for today鈥檚 world: we can learn a lot about how this ancient civilization was able to have different religions live together in harmony.鈥</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