No country is immune from COVID-19 and Tunisia has been hit as well. Schools have been closed and gatherings prohibited. But this is not enough to deter Tunisia88 high-school students from continuing to play music together and sharing it with audiences online.

Tunisia88 – as per the number of keys on a piano keyboard – promotes musical education as a way to encourage mutual discovery, and foster harmony across different cultures. It organises student-led, after-school music clubs in high schools all over the country, in particular in less developed and less privileged areas. Supported by the Institute from the very beginning, the project has so far reached out to more than 20,000 students in all 24 governorates (regions) of Tunisia.

In May, some 30 students from 16 different regions joined to perform their version of “Magwani”, a famous Tunisian song, each recording his or her own part from home, beginning with piano, bass and percussion then progressively adding violins and voices. “Students are beginning to understand the recording process, the importance of details, not only during the recording but also for their musical practice in general » says Amin Jarraya, Tunisia88 choir master, who organised the operation. “It was an original experience, adds Wala Ezzeddine, from the Tunisia88 club of Lycée Tahar Sfar in Mahdia.  “We shared exceptional moments. We tried to work and succeed  together ».

After this first successful experience, Tunisia88 is going on a streak with a second online concert on May 15.

Tunisia88 is run in partnership with Action et Développement Solidaire (ADS), a Tunisia based NGO; 88International; and the EIB Institute. The project is under the ‘High Patronage’ of the President of the Republic of Tunisia.