Islam Elbeiti (born April 3, 1994 in Khartoum,

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

) is a Sudanese bass player, radio presenter, and social change activist.

Early life

Elbeiti was born in Khartoum, the capital of

, as the eldest of five children, one brother and three sisters. She grew up in Sudan, Ethiopia,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Musical career

Elbeiti plays jazz, reggae and

Afro-pop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many genres of p ...

in different bands on the electric bass guitar. In December 2017, she contributed to the music and arts department of the first edition of ''Karmakol International Festival'', which was held in the village of Karmakol in northern Sudan. This festival was organized by civil society groups to showcase Sudan's rich contemporary culture and attracted both Sudanese and international visitors and artists. Elbeiti also performed live on stage with the well-known UAE-based Sudanese singer-songwriter Nile. In 2021,

Zakia Abdul Gassim Abu Bakr Zakia Abu Gassim Abu Bakr, Zakia Abdul Gassim Abu Bakr or Zakia Abulqasim (; born 1930s) is a Sudanese guitarist. She started performing in the 1960s and is recognised as Sudan's first female professional guitarist. , aged in her 80s, she was st ...

, the first female guitarist in Sudan and wife of

Sharhabil Ahmed Sharhabil Ahmed, sometimes also Sharhabeel Ahmed ( ar, شرحبيل أحمد, b. 1935), is a Sudanese popular musician, known for his distinctive style of singing, compositions, oud and guitar playing. Inspired by Western dance music like rock ...

, announced the forthcoming release of an album by her all-women's band ''Sawa Sawa'', including Islam Elbeiti.

Education and professional activities

Elbeiti graduated from the University of Medical Sciences & Technology (UMST) in Khartoum with a Bachelor's degree in business administration and management. She was also a radio presenter at Capital Radio 91.6 FM in Khartoum for a show called "Jazzified", where she talked about jazz-related topics.

Social activism

Islam Elbeiti has led and participated in several projects that have propelled entrepreneurship and cultural industries in Sudan and beyond. Islam's experience ranges from co-founding the first Sudanese entrepreneurship and innovation network for promoting the development of informal music education in Africa through the Global Music Association. She is the co-founder of the Sudanese Innovative Music Association. Further, she works as a cultural consultant and project manager for CEEZ (Creative Education and Empowerment Zanzibar). In addition, she is a member of the Pan-African Policy Innovation Foundation, which focuses on democratic political reform. As part of her activities in civil society, she has been a Program Manager at the global network Impact Hub in Khartoum. She is also a member of the i4Policy Task force, an organization that works in democratizing policy-making with specific emphasis on entrepreneurship. In 2017, she gave a talk on a TEDxYouth event in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

, in the form of a spoken word poem entitled ''Don't Kill Them.'' In August 2019, Elbeiti was nominated by the British Council in Sudan as 'Artist of the Month", both for her activities as a musician and for her involvement in civil society.

References

External links