Refugee Week 2020 - Youth Music Projects Supporting Refugees
This week is Refugee Week (15-21 June), a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees. We wanted to use this as an opportunity to highlight some of our funded projects that do just that!
Music Action International
Music Action International are people from across the world using the power of creativity to overcome the effects and causes of war, torture and armed conflict. They provide innovative ways so support children, young people and adults to overcome the debilitating effects of war-related stress and trauma and connect divided communities through creative music programmes.
They have a Fund B project with us with three main strands: Harmonise, Everyday People & Syria Summer Camp
Harmonise works with primary and secondary school classes across England, in 14-18 schools annually with high numbers of refugee (RAS)/Roma pupils.
Everyday People works with 3 core groups of young RAS in case, in partnership with refugee support organisations and local venues.
Syria Summer Camp is a 2 week summer activity for young refugees/asylum seekers, recently arrived from refugee camps in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
They're part of Migration Matters Festival 2020: a Global Celebration of Sanctuary, to celebrate the positive impact migration and refugees have had on the UK. The Stone Flowers and Everyday People LDN are featured (hopefully you'll be able to watch again if you missed it!).
Fairbeats!
Fairbeats! work in partnership Action for Refugees in Lewisham (AFRIL), Refugee Action Kingston and Love to Learn. They work with young refugees, asylum seekers, newly arrived migrants and their families, connecting new communities to music opportunities. Due to Covid-19 they've had to postpone a lot of their activity but have been sharing music from their artists on their Twitter feed. We especially love this video created by Fairbeats Artist Daniel with his daughter Nahla. They have a Fund B project, running projects that combine creative music making with the development of beginner instrumental skills on ukulele, drums and fife with participants aged 4-11 (11 - 16 year olds return as mentors).
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera have a Fund A project, delivering a mother and baby/toddler session with refugee families. They work in partnership with the Meena Centre, a centre for women refugees in central Birmingham, Baobab Women’s Project, a support and advocacy network for asylum seekers and women refugees and a team of early years practitioners from B’Opera, to deliver weekly creative music making activities, with a focus on singing and storytelling. The long term aim of the project is to build the confidence of parents to continue to make music with their children beyond the life of the project. Have a look at this blog post they did on the YMN earlier in the year which shows some of the positive outcomes.
Jack Drum Arts
Jack Drum Arts in Durham were due to begin a project with refugees which Covid-19 has sadly stalled for now - hopefully it will get going soon! They work to deliver high quality inclusive arts and wellbeing projects, programmes and events for all ages.
Here's some more ways you can get involved with Refugee Week: https://refugeeweek.org.uk/6-ways-to-get-involved-in-refugee-week-2020/
Amies Freedom Choir
Amies Freedom Choir is made up of female survivors of trafficking who are rebuilding their lives after finding freedom from slavery. The choir also offers friendship, support, signposting to necessary services and is an important part of stabilising their mental health. https://network.youthmusic.org.uk/and-over-lockdown-barriers They've done a lovely song during lockdown which can be found following this link.
I Speak Music
Check out the I Speak Music blog post on the network, in particular highlighting their Imagine:Imagine project.
It's also World Refugee Day on Sat 20 June, we thought the below quote from the UN was a good one to conclude on.
A pandemic has tested our strength and highlighted systematic inequalities. It has also connected us in new ways and renewed our motivation to act for equality.
In the time of COVID, we celebrate refugees who are on the frontlines fighting this pandemic, their hosts and the aid workers supporting them. We have seen everyday heroes from all walks of life step up to join the front lines. No matter who you are or where you come from, pandemic or not; everyone of us can make a difference. Every action counts.
Cover image is courtesy of Music Action International, below image courtesy of Refugee Week 2020.
