The Rainbow Academy: Warriors of the Rainbow Nation, South Africa
By Denay Willie, jazz musician; Cofounder and Director, The Rainbow Academy The year 2010 was very significant in South Africa. During that 16th year of our country’s free and democratic reign, we hosted the first-ever World Cup Soccer Tournament on... Read More →
Concert at Your Door: Moments of Solidarity between Eswatini Students and Korean Musicians during Lockdown
By Danielle Lee, Managing Director, Africa Ntjilo Empowerment The lingering pandemic has reminded us how capable we are of influencing each other’s lives. We have seen that without kindness, love, and patience, we can never achieve true justice and unity... Read More →
Positive Fatalism and Social Music Projects in Kinshasa, DR Congo
By Lukas Pairon, Founder of Music Fund; Founder/Director of SIMM: Social Impact of Making Music “It is easier to stand on the side of the agent of change, than on the side of the person whose situation is changed.” —Henri van... Read More →
Musicians Without Borders: Rwanda Youth Music
Chris Nicholson, Program Development Manager, Musicians Without Borders It was a flat-pack cajón, self-assembled in Rwanda. Hard to trust that it would hold your weight, or that the front panel wouldn’t splinter when you played it. The bass note on... Read More →
Bringing the Joy of Music to Children of Johannesburg
By Adeyemi Oladiran, Founder and Executive Director, Music Enlightenment Project, Johannesburg, South Africa The Music Enlightenment Project (MEP) is a community-based initiative in the heart of Braamfontein, Johannesburg, with the vision of a world where the lives of all children... Read More →
The Ubuntu Music Program: Strengthening Community through Music and Athletics
Collective submission from members of the Playing For Change Foundation The Playing For Change Foundation has been working in Rwanda since 2011, using music and sports as tools for positive change and education. Ubuntu is a Bantu word that means... Read More →
The World’s Youth Call for “Arts for Humanity”
Jeff M. Poulin, Managing Director, Creative Generation Sinai, Egypt is a fascinating place. Sitting between Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, it exists “where civilizations meet.” This theme echoed throughout the halls of the International Congress Center in Sharm... Read More →
Funding for Artist Travel to and from Africa
For our colleagues in Africa, The Online Cultural Mobility Funding Guide for AFRICA (Third Edition) is now available free online. It provides artists and cultural workers with a directory of funders and funding opportunities for international travel to and from... Read More →
Editorial | Competition, the Sistema Way
By Eric Booth, Co-Founder of The World Ensemble The English travel writer Pico Iyer moved to Japan 27 years ago, and his passionate hobby became playing ping-pong at a nearby club. His pleasure in the game comes from the way... Read More →
Editorial | Athens to Texas: “We’re With You”
by Tricia Tunstall, Co-Founder and Executive Editor, The World Ensemble Over the past few months, some El Sistema activists in the United States have been mobilizing resources to launch an El Sistema program this month for immigrant children in Tornillo,... Read More →