We are thrilled and grateful to officially announce a new addition to our growing network of dedicated supporters!

The Drake Gives, founded by Alec Glasser, donated $1.5 Million which will be used to support a new collaborative imitative: The Power of Music.

Blum Center Director, Richard Matthew, in close collaboration with campus colleagues, partners in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Nigeria, along with Mr. Glasser will be building out the new initiative as a network of changemakers and researchers dedicated to social and environmental action – brought together by the power of music.

When speaking to UCI News, Matthew described the exciting work of our partners abroad to demonstrate the vision of the new initiative:

“Our partners are Yole!Africa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Collaborative Media Advocacy Platform in Nigeria and Kakuma Sound in a refugee camp in Kenya. They are building radio stations and recording studios, and through music, young people are mobilizing to bring people together. The technologies they’re using to build the stations and studios are helping kids acquire skills such as spatial analysis and geographic information system data science, which are really valuable for environmental sustainability, climate resilience and climate change adaptation.”

Read UCI News’ full article here.

Read the Music Connection coverage here.