The Timbuktu Renaissance (TR) Action Group addresses the challenges Mali faces in the wake of the 2012 crisis when violent extremists overthrew Timbuktu—the cradle of the Blues genre of music and the historic center of Islamic knowledge in Africa—brutally dividing the country in the process. The TR strategy is to promote reconciliation and sustainable development in Mali through a revival of its culture and heritage, and examine broader implications for post-conflict reconstruction and for understanding Islam in its global diversity. Specifically, the TR agenda includes the return of the legendary Festival Au Désert to its home in Timbuktu; and until then, it’s touring incarnation as a Festival in Exile; an accompanying, Academy Award produced documentary film; celebrity-infused compilation albums; the restoration and traveling exhibition of the famed manuscripts; and the development of a long-term plan to house these pillars of culture permanently in Timbuktu. To achieve our goals, the TR Action Group will convene in Doha a unique configuration of public and private sector leaders, executives, scholars and artists, as well as high level representatives from the U.N., the OIC and the Malian government. Working with a diverse group of regional stakeholders, the group hopes to share Mali’s culture with the world by providing a foundation that supports a unified, pluralistic and economically viable future for the country.
