Back to search

United Voices of Choir

2022-1-FR02-KA152-YOU-0000668052022Mobility of young peoplefinalized
Countries: FR|TR|LT|CZ|IT · Grant: €23,536
Creativity, arts and cultureInclusion of marginalised young peopleBridging intercultural, intergenerational and social divide

Objectives

France saw a sharp rise in anti-Muslim acts last year amid a strict lockdown during the ongoing pandemic, according to the national body on human rights. Prejudices with lower tolerance levels against the Muslim community and Islam as a religion also continued to prevail, noted the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) in the 30th annual report on the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, released on 2021.This acts causes them to isolate from the society. The situation in Europe is not different from France. According to the 2018 report on Xenophobia and Discrimination against Refugees and Migrants in Europe, it is stated that racism and xenophobia against immigrants and refugees have increased throughout the EU, acts of aggression have occurred, and this situation has led to the isolation and marginalization of immigrants and refugees from the society. Studies show that mutual social relations should be developed in order to reduce the tension between immigrants and refugees and the host society, to prevent conflicts and to ensure harmony (Yıldırım,2019; Şimşek, 2018). For this reason, as a non-governmental organization working with young immigrants and asylum seekers, we decided to organize a project with international cooperation to ensure cultural rapprochement and social relations with these individuals.Based on the works we carry out and the characteristics of the audience we work with, we will use music as a communication tool in this direction. As a matter of fact, studies show that music allows people to reflect their values and identities and thus strengthens the bonds between them (Boer, 2010; Parncutt & Dorfer, 2011). In order to develop the idea of the project with international cooperation, we contacted the youth work institutions on immigrants and refugees and agreed to partner with 5 institutions from Turkey, Lithuania, Italy and Czechia. In order to determine the needs of the young people who are the target group of the project and to develop the project idea in this direction, we conducted a needs analysis by means of our volunteers and the volunteers of the partner institutions. A total of 150 youth and youth workers, including refugees and immigrants, aged between 18-30 answered our survey. The needs we have identified are as follows; *Informing the public about the basic concepts and contexts related to immigration and asylum, * Raising awareness about the problems experienced by immigrants and asylum seekers, *Developing common understanding, values, practices and intercultural dialogue between immigrants and asylum seekers and members of the host society, * Improving and increasing the recognition of studies that address the marginalization of immigrants and asylum seekers, In this direction, we decided to use choral music as a tool within the framework of the competencies and experiences of the partner institutions. As Gökçe(2007) states, individuals singing in choirs learn to be harmonious in their environment, to interact with their environment, to recognize individuals and cultures with different structures. In this direction, we have determined the goals of our project as follows: * To improve the knowledge, skills and attitudes of participants in contexts such as immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, immigration, assimilation, integration, inclusion, and human rights related to immigration and asylum, * To improve the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the participants by addressing the isolation and marginalization of immigrants and asylum seekers in the context of prejudice, stereotyping, human rights, equality and intercultural dialogue, * To inform the participants about the situation of immigrants and asylum seekers in other countries and good practices towards them, *To develop the musical and cultural dialogue skills of the participants to use music as a tool to promote cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue in society, to increase their employability in the European job market and to encourage them to take an active role in their society, *To inform the participants about Erasmus+ and the Youth Exchangge and to encourage them to take part in other projects in the future and to cooperate in the future.

Project partners (5)