The Bidi Bidi Music & Arts Centre, which is currently under construction, will be a low-slung, light-filled brick and steel amphitheater that also houses an acoustic recording studio and music classroom. As the global refugee population has soared in recent years, reaching over 35 million in 2022, some temporary camps like Bidi Bidi have transitioned into permanent city-like settlements. The Bidi Bidi settlement quickly reached maximum capacity in 2016 and has since transitioned into a permanent settlement. But beyond practical use and sustainability, De Kestelier wants Bidi Bidi residents to have a new building that feels like their own. “When people give it a name, they own it more.”Erezenio is hopeful that Bidi Bidi, and other settlements like it, will see more projects that provide refugees with “tools for success” in addition to more immediate needs.

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Persons: Bidi, Bidi Bidi, Hassell, LocalWorks, Hassell Xavier De Kestelier, ”, De Kestelier, Zex, Nachson Mimran, Mawa Zacharia Erezenio, Erezenio, Sina Loketa, To.org, there’s, De, that’s, ” De Kestelier, “, Kestelier Organizations: CNN, & Arts Centre, London, Records Locations: Yumbe, South, Kampala, stoke, Kyebando, Bidi, South Sudan, Ghent, Belgium