Community Building

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.

There are many ways that music builds bridges across cultures, and technology is playing a big role in accelerating those connections. Here are a few recent examples we’re seeing that may be of particular interest to readers in Asia and the Middle East.

When I was growing up in Budapest, Hungary, I had the privilege of learning to play music through the pedagogy of Zoltan Kodály, the famous 20th century Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music educator, linguist, and philosopher. 

Thanks to Kodály, our small country has a well-built school music system, which allows students to learn music theory from a young age and to experience active music-making.

Miami Music Project was honored with a Music Cities Award for “Best Initiative to Support Diversity & Inclusion in Music” at the Riyadh Music Cities Convention on December 8.

The Gould Standard, a podcast featuring stories from artistic heroes, just released their latest interview with Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, founder of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM).

Young people have unprecedented access to media, which often leads to a reliance on popular opinions rather than the cultivation of their unique voices. I see this in the classroom when I ask students for their thoughts—they often hesitate, looking around for validation instead of trusting their instincts. This reluctance is disheartening. It highlights a pressing need within youth arts education: we must foster spaces for reflection and honest dialogue.

CNN is giving us a major opportunity to showcase our field on the global stage.

Arts and cultural professionals from across Asia are invited to apply for the Mekong Cultural Hub’s Curated Conference Fellowship, part of their Meeting Point on Art & Social Action in Asia.

SIMM (Social Impact of Music Making) has a lively roster of international research seminars and conferences across Europe this coming year.

In a city like Mumbai, India’s financial capital, 300 out of the 400 public schools do not have a designated art teacher. Many schools rely on academic subject teachers to handle “art classes,” despite their lack of formal training or experience. While working in rural and remote regions, we realized that the situation worsened outside of Mumbai, reflecting a nationwide trend that affects over 250 million children in government and low-income private schools. Recognizing that hiring specialized art teachers was not feasible for many schools, we developed the “Art for Educator” (AFE) program to empower existing teachers as facilitators of visual arts and SEL.