The Weeknd backs U of T's bid to launch Ethiopian studies

lanthierj — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 20:52:29 +0000

lanthierj Mon, 08/08/2016 - 16:52

Cutline

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)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

City & Culture

The Weeknd

Ethiopia

Ethiopian Studies

Global

Faculty of Arts & Science

��οScarborough

A $50,000 donation from Grammy-award winning star The Weeknd will help the University of Toronto launch Ethiopian studies.

Starting in spring 2017 with a course in the ancient – and now largely extinct – language of Ge’ez, the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations is working to build the foremost curriculum for Ethiopian studies here at the University of Toronto.

“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 Tim Harrison, chair of the department of Near and Middle Eastern civilizations.

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.

The donation was made as part of Bikila Award’s fundraising initiative at U of T's Varsity stadium: Bikila Barefoot Challenge. On Saturday, The Weeknd announced his support for the effort and linked to further information on the initiative and where to make donations.

Read the Toronto Star story

“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.

“This was a unique opportunity for the community to partner with this prestigious institution, the University of Toronto, and he responded to our call.”

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 – in this case for the Ethiopian Orthodox and Catholic churches.

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.

The fundraising began in 2015 with a $50,000 donation from Professor Michael Gervers of U of T's history department, who has taught courses in Ethiopian history at U of T Scarborough.

Gervers said The Weeknd's gift has really helped Ethiopian studies at ��οget closer to reality.

“Practically everyone in the world under the age of 30 knows about The Weeknd,” Gervers said. “That single donation has raised the visibility of the whole project enormously.”

The Weeknd

The Weeknd backs U of T's bid to launch Ethiopian studies

Read the Toronto Star story

Read more about Gervers