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The Ensemble seeks to connect and inform all people who are committed to ensemble music education for youth empowerment and social change.
 
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Measuring Your Program’s Results: A Practical Framework for Insight

Graciela Briceno, Senior Education Advisor, USAID; Education Development Consultant; Music Teacher

06-04-2025

Ask any director of a music for social impact program about the program’s mission and goals, and you will receive an impassioned response about helping children, teaching music, inspiring minds, saving lives, building community, and developing social-emotional skills. There is clarity in what we all aim to achieve, built on a vision of happy students and families, beautiful music coming from every corner of a school, and meaningful stories of positively impacting children’s lives. Our vision includes accolades from school leaders or even government officials and others who are inspired by this work.

But how do we know whether we’re actually achieving these goals?

EDITORIAL
Navigating Constraint with Dignity: Lessons from Kinshasa’s “Positive Fatalism”

Lukas Pairon, Professor and Founder of Chair Jonet, University of Ghent, Belgium; Founder of the scholarly network SIMM; Founder of the Music Fund philanthropy; Co-founder of the contemporary music ensemble Ictus.

06-04-2025

What can we learn from people who live in one of the most constrained urban environments in the world—and still find ways to make life possible?

Essaouira World Music Festival Promotes Human Rights

06-04-2025

On June 19–21, the annual Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Morocco will return with a diverse program of live music and events that promote human rights.

Call for Proposals: Spaces of Culture

06-04-2025

Arts and cultural organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa interested in partnering with European artists and cultural professionals are encouraged to apply for EUNIC’s Spaces of Culture program.

UNDP timbuktoo Creatives Lab Opens Applications

05-07-2025

We’re sharing this one just under the wire! Applications are due today for the timbuktoo Creatives Lab, a mentorship program run by the United Nations Development Programme and Craft and Design Institute to help grow creative businesses in South Africa and across the continent.

No Matter the Medium, Ensemble Learning Makes Leaders of Us All

Saurabh Sainani, Program Lead, Enabling Leadership

04-02-2025

For many organizations outside of our shared community, leadership is viewed as a title or formal role—something to aspire to professionally. When it comes to youth empowerment, though, it means a bit more. We see it in the everyday actions, habits, and mindsets that empower individuals to make a difference. Leadership, for us, is about inspiring others simply by living your values.

At Enabling Leadership (EL), we strive to support young people as they find their way toward those actions and values.

Collaboration Across Cultures—and Genres—in São Tomé and Príncipe and Guinea-Bissau

Eduardo Lála, Conductor and Technical-Pedagogical Coordinator, The Rizoma Project

02-05-2025

When the Rizoma Project launched in 2022 in São Tomé and Príncipe and Guinea-Bissau, I knew we were embarking on an ambitious journey. Our goal was clear: to establish social orchestras in communities with limited resources and significant social challenges. 

Two weeks, 13 concerts, 22 musicians: The Ghetto Classics All-Stars Tour Kenya

Joanna Priwieziencew, Head of Ghetto Classics Dance, Nairobi, Kenya

02-05-2025

Nairobi, Kenya, November 2024.

A small room bordering East Africa’s largest dumpsite. Heat scorches through tin roofs as dust rises from the cement floor. Inside, 20 Kenyan musicians focus on Belgian saxophonist Toine Thys: they take in his every gesture and expression, eager not to miss a note. In the drum section, Canadian drummer and pedagogue Karl Jannuska passes his drumsticks to a Kenyan musician and picks up the shakers. Together, they are about to carve the thick air with an Afro jazz beat.

They’re also about to embark on their first national tour.

In Malawi, the Tumaini Festival Is More Journey Than Destination

Kensomah Magombo, Communications Officer, Tumaini Letu, in collaboration with The Ensemble editors

12-11-2024

Our flagship program is the annual Tumaini Festival, a free three-day global celebration held in the Camp, showcasing arts and cultural performances by refugee, Malawian, and international artists. As the star project of Tumaini Letu, this festival is the first and only one of its kind within a refugee camp. It highlights diverse art forms including music, theatre, poetry, and dance, spread across five performance areas. The Festival also features a display space for visual artists, a special evening dedicated to film screenings, and a children’s playground. Through everything from music and dance to spoken word and art, the Festival breaks stereotypes and builds solidarity among all attendees.

Global Collaboration Reimagines Classic Song with an Important Message

12-11-2024

What’s better than true international collaboration? Over 100 musicians, educators, and students from five countries—Ghana, Rwanda, Panama, Morocco, and the United States—have reimagined the Tears for Fears song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” with a new music video produced by non-profit Young Musicians Unite and the Playing for Change Foundation.

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