Facing one of the biggest refugee crises in history, our world is continuously challenged in numerous ways. Worldwide, children face adverse experiences by being exposed to risks like political violence and forced migration. As a socially engaged artist and educator, I cannot remain passive. I feel the urge to apply my educational and artistic experiences, skills and insights to stimulate the younger generations.
In my educational practice, I have experienced so many times how “the power of music” helps children to connect, open their minds and creatively engage with music. Therefore, I want to thoroughly investigate the potential of movement-based musical activities to promote social inclusiveness and resilience for children that had to leave their homeland and they often experience difficulties in integrating into the new environment that they have been brought to. To realise this, I want to take a specific stance as a researcher: rather than developing a method “for” children at risk, I will develop it “with” the children and their environment, by jointly engaging in an artistic process where their needs, ideas and creative aspirations get a voice.
In this start project, I will develop a theoretical framework and design a series of creative musical activities that combine music and movement, based on some theories and on my own experience as a teaching artist. Next, I will develop a child-centred methodology and try it out in a pilot study.
