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Journeying to New Communities through Cinema

Jerome L. Dulin with Joseph Arcegono, Cofounders, North Luzon Cinema Guild, Inc.

05-01-2024

On May 14, 2017, we were on our way to Tinglayan, Kalinga in the Northern Philippines to screen films and teach filmmaking to young people—a five-hour drive from our base in Tuguegarao City. It had been five months and three film workshops since we’d founded the North Luzon Cinema Guild; Tinglayan Film Camp was our first collaboration with an Indigenous community.

While we were driving downhill on the foot of the Cordillera Mountains, the brake pads of our yellow 1999 Toyota Fun Cargo gave out. As we careened down the mountain, an old bus headed uphill came into view. Seeing it was going to be tight, we angled our car toward the side of the road…and kept rolling…

Curation, Not Composition: Strategies for Healthy Collaboration in the Classroom

Mike Roberts, composer and sound artist specializing in electronic, choral, and community music; Founder/Head of the Electronic & Produced Music Department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, U.K.

05-01-2024

It was during a choir rehearsal, at age nine, that I decided to become a composer. Choir was an oasis of joy in an otherwise difficult school experience; I simply lived for each opportunity to sing. Since then, it’s been my joy to witness, time and time again, music’s transformative power in community—never more so than in communities of singers, and never more powerfully than when those singers are empowered to compose their own songs.

Exploring Music Therapy in Rwanda with Musicians Without Borders

Amelia Caesar-Homden, musician and final-year music therapy student at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, U.K.

05-01-2024

Music therapy for hearing-impaired people? I’ve been a musician for 20 years, and I am currently a third-year trainee music therapist studying at the University of the West of England in Bristol. But I never really knew how impactful music can be for children who are deaf or have hearing impairments until I had the opportunity to accept a professional placement with Rwanda Youth Music in Kigali, Rwanda.

Beirut Chants Turns to El Sistema

Richard Azoury, Finance Manager, Beirut Chants

04-03-2024

It was not a promising time to be learning or teaching music in Lebanon. The Lebanese pound had depreciated by over 90%, making music lessons a luxury that few could afford. The National Conservatory of Music was mostly non-operational; schools had stopped music classes for lack of funding, and our country’s youth had no means to advance their musical education. In this challenging environment, Father Maatouk turned to the El Sistema model.

Shifting Perspectives: Music Education and Disability

Laura Azuaje, Global Leaders Institute 2023 MBA Fellow | Venezuela and United States

04-03-2024

When people see children with disabilities actively participating in musical activities, their attitudes can shift drastically. This mental shift is incredibly beneficial for these children, who thrive when they are supported by individuals who believe in their capabilities. In this way, music programs are a connector, educating both children with disabilities and those around them, who learn to celebrate their potential.

Action Research in the Western Balkans: Music and Social Reconciliation

Ismar Porić, Founder/Director, House of Good Tones

04-03-2024

Can bringing young people from different cultures together, through arts-related experiences, help to promote understanding, communication, and peace building?

This is a question on the minds of many people working in the global field of arts for social change. Over the past few years, my program, The House of Good Tones in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, has partnered with two other Balkan programs (SO-DO, in Zagreb, Croatia, and the Music Art Project, in Belgrade, Serbia) on a research project designed to explore this question—a particularly important question in our part of the world.

Want to Amplify Youth Voices? Give Them a Podcast Mic

Haley Witt, Visibility Manager, Youth on Record

04-03-2024

In mainstream media, youth voices are widely absent, overlooked, or sensationalized. Youth on Record (YOR) aims to address this gap through our creative youth programming, including its Podcasting Production Internship. The program seeks to foster a supportive environment where young people explore creative storytelling and produce podcasts that amplify their voices and ideas.

Safe Spaces in Unsafe Places: Talking with Lucas Dols of Sounds of Change

Patrick Scafidi, Executive Editor, The Ensemble, in conversation with Lucas Dols, Founder/Director, Sounds of Change

02-07-2024

When we last spoke to Sounds of Change Founder and Director Lucas Dols, in 2022, he was hopeful about an upcoming year of growth for the organization… Seventeen months later, the world is no less difficult or overwhelming for young people looking to find their way. With a focus on those who are most affected by violence and displacement abroad, we talked with Lucas about the work Sounds of Change is doing to help.

 

Courage and Community at Ghetto Classics Dance

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

02-07-2024

The river is fighting to flow through the densely settled garbage, scavenged by Korogocho inhabitants. The heat of the sun bounces from the ground, the rising dust fills my eyes, while a gang member greets me in Swahili.

Five years into my work with Ghetto Classics Dance, I am again presented with the opportunity to write about our program.

ESG’s Young Leaders Strike Chords of Empowerment

Fenia Biniari, Communications Manager, El Sistema Greece

02-07-2024

On Saturday, November 25, following the International Day for Children’s Rights, El Sistema Greece’s Young Leaders Program welcomed Anna Mertzani, Manager of the Intercultural Center “PYXIDA” of the Greek Council for Refugees.

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