Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis and Ethiopian-American singer Meklit Hadero founded the Nile Project in 2011 with a mission to inspire, inform, and empower citizens to collaboratively foster the sustainability of the Nile River’s ecosystem. In 2013, the Nile Project brought together musicians from various Nile countries to compose, perform and record a new body of songs drawn from the Nile Basin’s diverse musical traditions and instruments. The resulting album, “Aswan,” is the first cross-cultural collaboration among musicians from the various Nile Basin countries. It has received accolades worldwide. National Public Radio (NPR) named it one of “NPR’s “Five Must-Hear International Albums” and it was selected for Songlines Magazine’s “Top of the World” annual collection.