Commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day 2021 and being a “Light in the Darkness”.

Young musicians from the Switch It project worked together to create this song, as a contribution to Hartlepool Youth Service’s event led by a group of young people called Stand Together.  The event took place on 27th January 2021. Here’s a description from emerging music leader and Switch It volunteer Maddie Smyth;

 “When we first discussed the project with the young people, they were enthusiastic and excited from the beginning. Initially, we discussed the history and context behind the Holocaust, and invited the young people to share their knowledge about it. From here, we went on to discuss this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day theme, ‘Being a Light in the Darkness’, and how the young people would respond to this in their composition.

During these first sessions, not only did we see ideas being shared and discussed openly between the group members, but we also saw active composition and lyric writing during the sessions. One young person would write lyrics and share them with the group, whilst another composed one of the main melodies in the song and shared it with us.”

Our young musicians rose to the challenge of creating and recording a song on a very sensitive theme and in very tricky circumstances (lockdown). I think it’s fair to say that they created a very emotive and expressive piece of music.  One young person said; “I’m thankful you can see how hard we worked on the track.  We really put our hearts into it.”

Stand Together are a group of young people supported by Hartlepool Youth Service who meet weekly to explore and highlight social injustices in the modern world. The Holocaust Memorial Day event is the main focal point of their year. The event took place online this year and featured films, poetry, and photography plus a display of light creations made by schools, community groups and young people. People were also invited to join in a candle lighting ceremony.

Switch It was proud to be part of the event and would encourage other young people to get involved in next year’s event.

#LighttheDarkness #HolocaustMemorialDay

Let’s stand together and be a light in the darkness.

Tim Coyte

Switch It Project Co-ordinator