History professors Manu Ampim and Carolyn Hodge will be speaking about a cause they have been passionate about for many years: The Save Nubia Project.

Supporters can attend an informative lecture by Ampim in the Knox Center from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, which will feature a four-minute video on the Nubian energy crisis followed by a 45-minute power point and question and answer segment.

The event is meant to bring awareness to the ancient artifacts that are in danger of being lost because of the Nubian government’s energy development projects.

Ampim said he would like to get these archaeological sites preserved as world heritage sites by the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which would mean no one could touch these sites and damage them in any way.

The Save Nubia Project was started by Ampim in 2012 after many years of doing field research in 19 African countries, including Egypt and Sudan.
He started realizing that damage was being done to artifacts due to man-made dams.

“I started documenting the damage that was being done to these historical landmarks and artifacts in 1994,” Ampim said.
The country’s governments are building dams for profit with no concern for the citizens and artifacts that have been around for thousands of years, Ampim said.

Two of the dams have damaged parts of Kush and Nubia by causing flooding. Citizens have reached out for national help and the help of Ampim so that these dams will not continue to be built and further destroy their country and the historical artifacts, he said.

Anthropology professor Lisa Schwappach said, “Egypt and Nubia were a contiguous culture and, to learn more about Egypt, we need to explore the roots of civilizations all along the Nile.”

The Greeks invaded Kemet in 323 B.C. The Greeks, under the power of Alexander the Great, changed the name of the country to what we now know as Egypt, Ampim said.

“Kemet is the original name for Eygpt and it means land of black people,” he said.

The dams that are being built in Nubia are to generate electricity, but Ampim believes there are other options. He said one of the best alternatives would be solar power and, with this country being a desert, it would get excessive sunlight which is all solar panels need to generate power.

Hodge said, “The artifacts are disappearing and the history and culture of an ancient African civilization are being lost because of the dams that are being built. If we don’t save Nubia, that history is gone.”

Raising money for Save Nubia will go toward helping the citizens build a museum to store their artifacts and would help Ampim further his research with a team of experts.

He said other colleges stream their games, and the attention.