Category: Community Music Programme
HELP US TO TAKE OFF IN AUGUST!
To donate, in support of our 2022 M&R Summer Camp in lebanon - thank you! PM has just held the Orientation week-end for the Italian team who will support the 2022 M&R Summer Camp, which will take place during the first 2 weeks in August, involving over 100 children and students from the Palestinian camp communities. The final concert will be in Baalbek on Saturday 13th August. rehearsing repertoire for the Summer Camp We need help with the airfares for our team of 10 teachers and students. Any donations would be greatly appreciated - every little helps! Please send this [...]
Preparations for the Summer Camp 2022
Prima Materia is ready to go with the new Summer Program after two years of COVID-induced prohibitions. Two members of our team (Deborah & Alberto) are completing the field visit to all the centers involved in Music & Resilience for planning details and also training where possible. We were never let alone by our dear friend and colleague Mohammad Orabi who is now General Project Coordinator for Assumoud (our boss! thank you Mohammad for doing a great job). We also had important strategic meetings with the Assumoud management and our trusted sponsor Taawon, whom we thank as always for its [...]
Community Music workshops, December 2021
2 members of the team, Chiara Trapanese and Marco Lolli, were back in Lebanon for a week last December, running workshops with the Community Music groups in the Assumoud centres of Eni Elhilweh (Saida) and Beddawi (Tripoli). The workshops consolidated the developments of our new online support project for the CM students and their local teachers. The visit also served to transport a digital piano donated in Italy to the Ein Elhilweh centre – our heartfelt thanks to the donor – this will make a world of difference to the students! [...]
Rock ‘n roll in Saida!
Piano, guitars and cello Our crazy percussionists! Yesterday, 13th August, Alberto and Chiara completed the first part of their work this year with the Palestinian community in diaspora in Lebanon, with three days of music in the Saida refugee camp, Ein el Hilweh. The workshops involved a large group of children (about 30) engaged in musical and psychosocial activities, and a group of young musicians with Community Music instrumental activities (see photos above and those in the previous post). We also worked with the more experienced students, who play the role of peer educators by teaching the younger children. There [...]
Lebanon, August 2021
singing games Community Music rehearsals vocal awareness excercise rhythmic games with frisbees Despite extremely hard life conditions here in Lebanon, within the context of a constantly worsening economic situation, THE MUSIC MUST GO ON! Prima Materia is leading a 3-week program of follow-up for music therapy, community music and psychosocial music support, together with Assumoud, in the centres located in Beirut, Saida and Baalbek. The photos show workshops in the Eine Elhilweh Assumoud centre with 50 students, some of whom are now working as peer-to-peer teachers for the younger children. The socio-economic context - the entire country is without electricity [...]
“Music and Resilience” article preview!
We are delighted to present the preview of the peer-reviewed article, "Adjusting the Pitch" written by key members of the M&R project team, Deborah Parker, Dario Gentili, Henry Brown and Alberto Balducci, which has been accepted by the international journal Voices, for publication in July 2021. Structured as an ethnographic exploration of action learning, the article narrates and analyses the project's developments and transformations during its first 8 years, considering both its successes and challenges. "Voices" are given to the Palestinian, Italian and Lebanese children, students, teachers and healthcare professionals involved, through both their words within the text and the [...]
Finally back to Lebanon!
After 9 months of waiting and hoping, at last it is possible to travel to Lebanon again. From 11th to 21st December 2020, with the support of Montespertoli council and Città Metropolitana Firenze, and on behalf of the PM M&R coordination team, Deborah Parker will lead a 10-day program of monitoring, evaluation, training and supervision, together with Assumoud, in all the localities where project actions take place: Beirut, Beddawi, Saida and Baalbek. During these months of covid restrictions, with no group activities in the Assumoud centres, PM has offered distance support, including online supervision for the music therapy team. The [...]
Overview of activities M&R 18-19 – New video online
The video presentation of the Music and Resilience 2018-19 project is online: an overview of the activities we have done during the eighth year of the project. The activities took place in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon in collaboration with the local partner Beit Atfal Assumoud and thanks to the support of Taawon Lebanon. Video by Dario Gentili.
Planning for 2020
PM coordinator Deborah Parker is completing a 10-day visit to Assumoud and the centers where M&R is active, for follow-up, monitoring and planning meetings for 2020. Unfortunately, the road closures caused by the civil demonstrations against political corruption have made travelling up North to Beddawi center impossible, but all other scheduled meetings, in Baalbek, Beirut and Saida were able to take place. The project is "healthy and kicking"; it's tendencies towards growth continue to challenge us to maintain quality and ensure sustainability. On this last point, a very fruitful meeting was held with Welfare Association Lebanon, main sponsor of M&R, [...]
Community Music Concert, Saida, July 2019
The 2-week Summer Community Music program ended with a great final concert in Ishbilia Theatre, Saida. Click here for the full video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewL11JDE5-s
