European Union

Like many organizations across Europe, El Sistema Greece draws part of its support from European Union programs. While our work has always focused on music and social change, we’ve recently partnered with organizations beyond the music sector to explore something broader: “artivism” across different art forms. This collaboration led to the launch of a new project, co-funded with the EU and dedicated to empowering young people, especially those with fewer opportunities.

Fourteen organizational partners from eight European countries gathered last month for the launch of the EU-funded AMPLIFY project, bringing together artists, technologists, and researchers to elevate “phygital” (physical-digital) experiences with music.

National and international youth orchestra and choir festivals instill a collaborative mindset in their participants and provide all attendees with powerful, lasting memories. But they are time-consuming to organize, requiring logistical know-how and well-considered, family-flexible safeguarding policies for the children and young people. It’s not only tiring; it’s expensive. And program leaders know firsthand that students progress with or without these national or international festivals. So why bother? What do they offer to young people that their own programs can’t provide?

My answer, in a word: perspective.

Women and gender minorities are significantly underrepresented in music, receiving less recognition, publicity, and funding than their male counterparts; the European Union has been making strides to address this issue thanks to their Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025, but there is still a ways to go.