User:Ahmed A Rahman

Ahmed Abd  Al Rahman Ahmed

PROFESSION:	Tutor, performer, ethnomusicologist, and Multimedia Designer

LANGUAGES:	Arabic, English, Chinese (Mandarin)

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Ahmed Abd Al Rahman is a composer, performer and ethnomusicologist, whose instruments include the ‘oud (Arab lute), erhu (Chinese two-string spike fiddle)and keyboard. He was born in the Sudan, and is a graduate of the Higher Institute of Music and Drama, Khartoum.

He also spent 4 years in China where he mastered the Erhu and gained a PGD in Composition for Chinese Music and Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments.

Ahmed has Masters degrees in ethnomusicology at Goldsmiths (London, 1995), and in electronic media at Oxford Brookes. His ethnomusicology dissertation discusses "The use and function of music in Ethiopian culture."

•	Tutoring in learning institutions & creative multimedia projects on Information Communication Technology (ICT) courses for adults and young people. •	Web design, Filming, editing, designing and authoring DVD’s, CD- ROM’s and videos for personal or library/ archive use.

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE

I graduated with a Masters Degree in Electronic Media from Oxford Brookes University in September 1999. For this I produced a complete CD-ROM on Sudanese Art and Culture.

2007 - 2008 Barton Community Development Project : I worked as a community development worker, I also designed and developed ‘Hands on News’, the news-letter for the Barton community as well as working with adults and young people to produce a short film – documentry about the changes in the community and changes the people would like to see within their community in the near-by future. As part of my job, I work closely with young people as a mentor. I’ve produced a short documentry, showing the changes in the Underhill Circus Development Project.

2005 - 2008 Learning Communities: I designed and developed a Certificate in Multimedia and Graphic Design for the Leys Learning Communities project. I have been supporting users working in multimedia and digital work at the Blackbird Leys Community IT Hub. Through the Leys Learning Communities, I have been supporting users of the centre on a one to one basis and in group courses. This has included people from diverse cultures and professions with an interest in gaining skills in a range of Multimedia applications and systems for their own use, job search or career development. 2004 - 2008 Adult Education Tutor: Developing and teaching courses including digital photography, desktop publishing, web design and flash animation in East Oxford, Blackbird Leys and Barton. I monitor and supervise younger people and adult learners with an aim to equip them with computing skills to help them gain employment. I have been involved in a recruitment process of learners undertaking these courses and assessing their progress.

In 2004- 2005, I designed and developed the website for IT Hub, DVD based on ‘Life on the Leys’, digital photography exhibition, interface and layout for ‘Black in Britain’ for Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS), developed and taught ABC level 3 Web design course for Learning Communities and recently offered the same to Oxford and Cherwell Valley College.

2000- 2001, assistant Librarian/ cataloguer in the Pitt Rivers Museum: I gained skills at the Balfour Library MARC system of electronic cataloguing. After the completion of the library project, I worked for Gulf Research Centre in Dubai UAE as multimedia manager to create digital library for research until 2002, when I undertook a 1 year course.

1997 - 1999, University of Oxford: Ashmolean Museum Department of Eastern Art as well as working on a digital project at the Bate Collection of Historical Musical Instruments. As a Consultant to the Refugee Studies Programme, I produced their Arabic Website and English Home Page for their Forced Migration Review magazine, including putting entire issues of the magazine online.

In the 1990’s I arranged and played the Arabic lute and the traditional Chinese Fiddle for a project titled, ‘In the Footsteps of Zyriab’ also broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Member of Rivers of Babylon a group of singers and instrumentalists. They specialize in the religious and secular music of the Iraqi (Babylonian) Jewish tradition.

I have been a guest Lecturer and continued to do so since 1999 at Goldsmiths College, London, University of Oxford, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology and Oxford Brookes on the use of multimedia in documenting oral tradition, in the Ashmolean Museum and The Bate Collection of Historical Musical Instruments on Arabic and Chinese music.

Prior to moving to England in 1991, I was a lecturer in University of Khartoum, Sudan (Africa) in the Department of Music and Sudan broadcasting centre (TV and Radio). I have been lucky to travel to many countries in the world as a music composer and performer since I was a child.

I am competent in the use of MAC and PC applications, I have a good knowledge of software packages in WEB authoring, image manipulating, film editing /DVD authoring and Graphic design such as; Macromedia Dreamweaver / Flash/ Director/ Fireworks, DVD Studio Pro, Motion, Premier, Desktop Publishing (Photoshop, Quark, Illustrator, Indesign), Microsoft office, digital photography and video making.

I used my skills as a freelancer since 2003 by the name Oxford Interactive Media (OIM). In 2005, I worked with professor Herman Bell on the Photos of Nubia. This involved a vast amount of historical photographs, restoring images, adding colour and finally putting together and presenting the final project outcome. I find the creativity in multimedia and music quite fascinating and I am always grateful to have opportunities to help others learn and enjoy these vocations. I work with a lot of children who have been excluded from schools, helping them to realise the potential of working in the fields of Graphic Design, Film making, etc, as well as helping them gain confidence.

STUDIES 2007            Assessor training with Oxford & Cherwell Valley College (ongoing) 2005           Course in  the use of Motion, DVD Pro and Life Type  – MBC London 2002- 2003 Oxford College for Further Education, HNC in Graphic Design. 2000- 2001 MARC system of electronic cataloguing course, Oxford Bodleian Library 1997- 1999 Oxford Brookes University,  Masters degree in Electronic Media. 1998	        Oxford Film & Video Makers, course in filmmaking. 1993- 1995 Goldsmiths College, University of London, gained M.Mus. Masters degree   in  Ethnomusicology 1985-	1990 Khartoum University School of Music, Sudan. Division One, distinction, specialized in Music composition gained (Bachelor) 1982- 1984 Academy of Music, Wuhan, China – Composition for traditional, Chinese musical Instrument/ mastered the Erhu (H Diploma)

Address

57 Sherwood Place Headington, Oxford OX3 9PL. UK Tel: 00447786387025 Email: ahmedworldwide@yahoo.co.uk