University's award for collecting sounds from around the globe

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) was crowned a winner at the 2016 Times Higher Education (THE) Awards for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts beating off competition from five other UK universities.

UCLan won the arts category prize for its Global Sound Movement (GSM) project, an initiative that captures the sounds of rare and exotic musical instruments from remote villages across the globe for commercial use with profits donated back to the communities.

Led by UCLan’s College of Culture and the Creative Industries, the project not only provides a way for remote, economically deprived communities to showcase their music to a global audience, but also provides local musicians with a sustainable income stream which could help lift them out of poverty.

UCLan Vice-Chancellor Professor Mike Thomas said: “I am delighted the University has won this award in recognition of such a unique and ground-breaking project that truly reflects our international outlook and has proved to be a revolutionary sustainable fundraising platform.”