The Ubumuntu Arts Festival is proud to present the Digital World Music Program, a hybrid artistic initiative that brings together emerging musicians, storytellers, and cultural practitioners from six countries—Nepal, Pakistan, Congo, Kenya, Argentina, and Rwanda—to explore and preserve cultural heritage through folk music, digital innovation, and collaborative storytelling.
Launched on June 17, the program features a series of three online workshops in partnership with Milele Museum, a hybrid institution pioneering African digital heritage practices. These workshops are designed to deepen participants’ understanding of cultural preservation, digital archiving, and the creative use of tools such as augmented reality, spatial sound, and digital storytelling to reinterpret ancestral knowledge.
“It’s more than an exchange—it’s a co-creation space,” says Delah Dube, program coordinator. “Participants are not just learning—they’re building something together that can live on through digital platforms and cross-cultural collaboration.”
The program will culminate in two public showcases during the Ubumuntu Arts Festival in Kigali, Rwanda:
- “Identity and Belonging”, a presentation at the Cultural Diplomacy unConference on July 15, and
- A collaborative performance at the Music Is Humanity concert, where participants will blend traditional music and digital expressions in a powerful display of creative technology.
The Digital World Music Program is part of Ubumuntu’s ongoing Art, Science & Technology Initiative, which was launched in 2024 with Creative Currents, a project that explored decolonial narratives through VR, gaming, and fashion. This year’s edition builds on that foundation by continuing to strengthen the intersection between art, science, and technology in service of cultural memory and innovation.