2025
Project: Sonic Bridges: Music Machinery for Social Mobility and Cultural Sustainability of Marginalized Ethnic Communities
Dr. Omotolani Ebenezer Ekpo
( Federal University Wukari, Nigeria )
Omotolani Ekpo is an innovative ethnomusicologist, composer, and cultural sustainability advocate with a deep passion for preserving endangered African musical traditions. A native of Nigeria, she has conducted groundbreaking research on the musical practices of the Jukun people of Nigeria, focusing on how indigenous music communicates social equity, environmental stewardship, public health messages, sustains cultural identity, and fosters peace building. She is the lead author of “Documenting distinctive features of ‘Keku’ dance ensemble of the Jukun nation of the sub-Saharan Africa” and has presented her works at leading academic forums, including the ICTMD world conferences and Symposiums.ASAUK Conference,as well as the Pandemic Sciences Institutes Conference at the Oxford University UK among others. She is an active member of interdisciplinary research teams and professional bodies. Her creative outputs, ranging from musical compositions to visual storytelling, serve as tools for advocacy, education, and empowerment, especially among underrepresented communities.
Project IRF II :Inequality&Mobility
This study contextualizes the functionality of music as both a cultural archive and a medium for social transformation among marginalized ethnic groups in Africa, with its case study from Nigeria and Tunisia. Drawing from existing facts about various marginalization challenges faced by indigenous African traditions, such as political neglect, and globalization, which significantly threaten its historical role in storytelling, identity reinforcement, and community cohesion. More relevant to this study are the Western musical influences and religious shifts that have further erode the traditional soundscape of African minority ethnic groups, leaving them underrepresented in academic discourse and global cultural platforms. This study explores the integration of Jukun and similar North African musical traditions like Amazigh and Gnawa into the global soundscape, analyzing cultural hybridization, political dynamics, and aesthetic debates that shapes their evolution. While interdisciplinary studies may have brushed over the disparities of these groups despite their contribution to their countries’ rich cultural mosaic, this study contributes to the global debate by examining how these indigenous musics function as a cultural mechanism for resilience, social justice, and spiritual expression. It will explore how these musical traditions (both in their indigenous and hybridized popular forms) facilitate mobility and address inequalities in cultural representation, gender roles, and resource sustainability while preserving the people’s identity in the global landscape. This study adopts an interdisciplinary ethnomusicological approach, combining ethnographic fieldwork, musical analysis, and participatory action research to explore the role of indigenous music in cultural identity, politics, and sustainability. Primary data will be gathered through participant observation, interviews, oral histories, and recordings of indigenous musical performances in Nigeria and Tunisia. Secondary sources, including MECAM literature, will provide comparative insights into cultural hybridity, knowledge production, and digital documentation. Thematic and discourse analysis of this study will examine song lyrics, oral narratives, and performance contexts.