Non-profit organisation set out to train aspiring female DJs in Palestine

Future Female Sounds are a non-profit organisation that make it their mission to have DJing "accessible to women and gender minorities globally since 2017". The Future Female Sounds network is made up of over 5,000 gender minority and female DJs worldwide.

Female Future Sounds offer access to platforms that support those who are interested in learning how to DJ. The organisation provides people with professional workshop training sessions, as well as a safe space to practice music.

The members of the global community are across The Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. The non-profit organisation has also held DJ workshops in Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Egypt, China and Tunisia.

In 2017, the non-profit organisation, that strives for gender inclusivity in the music industry, was founded by Tia Korpe in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Tia Korpe spoke about her decision to start Future Female Sounds, saying: "I noticed a total lack of female/non-binary DJs, even as warm-ups or backing major artists. It made me realise that it's not only a question of a safer space issue, but a systematic widespread issue of representation and possibilities."

Future Female Sounds is entirely volunteer-based, and self-financed. To help support the music programme financially, Future Female Sounds have recently started a fundraising campaign.

The money raised for the non-profit organisation will go towards sponsoring up-and-coming music students who are taking part in the DJ programme. The fundraising campaign makes for people being able to donate to Future Female Sounds via USB sticks, or one-off payments through the website.

To raise awareness of their movement towards gender inclusivity, Future Female Sounds, have collaborated with the music industry, as well as NGOs, community platforms, and brands.

Tia Korpe, the founder of Future Female Sounds, noted that: "The entire course is created and taught by female and gender minority DJs."

"We consider ourselves a constantly growing and refining organisation, which means we are also always learning and challenging our knowledge by collaborating with new DJs, collectives, and brands", Tia Korpe added.

This month, Future Female Sounds launched their latest programme, which is set to take place in Palestine.

The newest project in Palestine will be led by Nour. Nour is a native Palestinian, DJ and music producer based in Mexico City. Her taste in music is, fuelled by both the influences of her culture and the perception of her heritage.

Nour is also the creator of Refugee Chronicles. Refugee Chronicles is a platform that allows displaced people to speak out about their survival against Al-Nakba (also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe) that destroyed Palestinian society in 1948.

The series of free DJ workshops for Palestinian people will take place at the Sabreen Association for Artistic Development in Jerusalem. Future Female Sounds will provide eight aspiring women DJs from Palestine with professional industry training.

Nour, the leader of the Palestine project, spoke to reporters about the opportunity to do the creative women in her hometown a service. Nour said: "The fact I'm able to do this in my hometown of Jerusalem for fellow Palestinian women is very special."

Nour also called for more gender inclusivity in the music industry. She expressed: "I've done these workshops all over... There's a lot of talent in Palestine — especially among women."

"I think this project is important because it's bringing opportunity to Palestinian women who wouldn't normally have it", Nour recognised.

Tia Korpe, the founder of Future Female Sounds, spoke of her DJ community, stating: "Our community is diverse, talented, curious motivated, and helpful. It feels like every single active person in our community is actually genuine about not only learning as much as they can – but also contributing to the community."

The volunteers who work for Future Female Sounds have further "created a very special atmosphere, both digitally and physically", Tia Korpe concluded.