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EDITORIAL
When an Instrument Case Means ‘Don’t Shoot’: Symbolic Recognition in Medellín

Nathaly Ossa Alzate, strategic arts management and social impact consultant

10-07-2026

In Nancy Fraser’s framework, social justice requires both redistribution (economic resources) and recognition (cultural and symbolic status). Symbolic recognition is the validation of one’s identity, dignity, and self-worth within a broader socio-cultural context. And in 1990s Medellín—our time—young people faced material deprivation and severe symbolic misrecognition, viewed solely through the lens of urban violence, stigma, and invisibility. 

From Accommodation to Co-Creation: How Students Continue to Transform Our Approach to Adaptive Music Education

Erin Parkes, Founder/Executive Director, and Lyanne Fortin, Communications Manager, Lotus Centre for Special Music Education

11-05-2025

When Lotus Centre for Special Music Education opened its doors in Ottawa, Canada in 2012, we thought our mission was clear: provide access to high-quality music instruction for students with exceptionalities and disabilities who were being left out of traditional lessons. What we didn’t yet realize was that our students were about to become our greatest teachers, shifting our organization from a provider of services to a learning community shaped directly by their needs and strengths.

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