Tunisian females are taking to decks and mixers, while banishing gender stereotypes about DJs thanks to an all-female DJ Academy.

The DJ Academy hosts masterclasses that teaches students multiple facets of DJing including how to mix, research music, set up tracks according to beats per minute (BPM), and sound engineering, as well as self-promotion, branding, management, working with bookers and more.

The first of its kind in the North Africa and Middle East region, the DJ Academy is the result of a partnership between La Fabrique, a co-working art studio for cultural collaboration in the heart of Tunis, and Future Female Sounds, the Danish non-profit organisation and booking agency.

Olfa Arfaoui, who founded the DJ Academy for Girls in Tunis, said: “Music helps them [female students] speak more freely and puts them at ease, [as well as being] a tool for social change, and to create more diversity and equality.”

More than 200 students have enrolled at the DJ Academy since it began in 2018, and it has helped launch the careers of Tunisian female DJs.

Image Credit: Nasreddine Sakouhi

Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about lifestyle including sustainable and green living