Musicians Without Borders

Today is the final full day of the Music Connects Berlin exchange trip. After a full week, the students from Mitrovica Rock School and Roma Rock School have brand new songs ready to perform. This morning, trainers from Rockacademie will lead them in a workshop focussed on how to record a demo, to work on songs digitally, and come away with a new recording. This evening, everything comes together in a live showcase where we will be joined by young musicians from teeny musik treff and @outreach.berlin. The songs written throughout the week will be performed to a live audience for the first time ever! #MusicConnects #CreativeEurope

We're back in Berlin! Yesterday we kicked off another exchange programme in the German capital, hosted by our friends at Clash! Exchange & Learning Students from Mitrovica Rock School and Roma Rock School flew in to join music trainers from Fontys Rockacademie We started the day with some exercises to get to know each other, before splitting up and exploring the neighbourhoods of Berlin, seeking out the famous music sites of the city. Throughout the week, the young musicians will write new songs, incorporating the techniques and methods learnt from the Rockacademie trainers. #musicconnects #creativeeuropeculture #creativeeurope

"In 1999, no one had ever heard of the idea—applying the power of music where war had raged, to connect and re-build, create new realities, reconcile, and empower. Now we know, and much of the world of peacebuilding knows, and there are many more doing this work." In her latest Director's Blog, Laura Hassler reflects on the themes of our 25th anniversary: the padt, present, and future of Musicians Without Borders. Drawing on the words of poets Refaat Alareer, Joseph Fasano, and Arundhati Roy, Laura tells us that in times of turmoil, the best we can do is to continue. Read the full blog on our website: https://ow.ly/gt9R50SFfUf This summer we need your help. We are fundraising in recognition of our 25th anniversary. Together we will raise 25k to match 25 years of peacebuilding through music! We're already halfway to our goal, but need your support to raise that second half. Please consider giving what you can today: mwb.to/donatenow

Twenty-Five Years of Music for Peacebuilding: Musicians Without Borders We are featured in the fantastic newsletter from The Ensemble, a global newsletter for teaching artists, program leaders, educators, funders, researchers, and students and families to share their insights and experiences. Here you can read all about our founding story, how we started, and how far we've come. Read the article and subscribe to The Ensemble here: https://ow.ly/caQE50SCmrj We are pleased to share this article during our 25th anniversary fundraising campaign. If you are inspired by this story, please consider donating what you can, so that we might continue the mission we have cultivated for 25 years. mwb.to/donatenow #NowMoreThanEver

Then: In 2008, some 25 teenagers from North and South Mitrovica came together for a first summer school in Skopje, North Macedonia. In what would become the first band program, they were coached by rock musicians from both sides of Mitrovica, with a methodology designed by a team from Fontys Rockacademie in the Netherlands. This first summer school was a pilot, a last-ditch attempt to see if there was a way forward towards establishing the Mitrovica Rock School. We had tried for years to start a rock music school for youth from both sides in a single location in Mitrovica, but it was never safe enough to do so. The 2008 summer school was a massive success, and led to the opening of branches on both sides of the city, in October and November of 2008. Now: Mitrovica Rock School has taught some 1,600 young musicians and has graduated former participants into leadership roles. Its mixed bands, formed by students from North and South Mitrovica, write and record their own songs, and regularly perform in Mitrovica and throughout the region. It has become a leading music center in the region, and has partnered with other rock music schools, festivals, street art organizations, and other cultural centers. It now sits at the center of our project Music Connects, bringing together young musicians from Mitrovica and Skopje with cultural initiatives in Berlin, Brussels and the Netherlands. This kind of change is achieved over time, with consistent effort, attention, and support. That’s why we place sustainability as a core tenet of our work. To do this, we rely on the support and kindness of our network, of our partners, but most of all, of our donors. Support programs like these today: mwb.to/donatenow #NowMoreThanEver

Otto de Jong has been with Musicians Without Borders from the very beginning. An inspiring workshop leader, fantastic musician, and a flash of energy and enthusiasm wherever he goes! As part of our Music Leadership training development team, Otto has been instrumental (no pun intended) in creating our methodology that we use in all of our programs; a methodology based first and foremost on safety, inclusion, quality, and connection. Oftentimes, our workshop leaders work in contexts where communicating through language is not possible. Luckily, music allows us to engage and communicate in ways that aren't reliant on a shared language: rhythm, tone of voice, dance, facial expression, dynamics, movement, we use every part of the body to create a sense of enjoyment, inclusion, and understanding. We've worked on this methodology for over two decades, through trial and error, building on the expertise and knowledge of our amazing team. Without that time and space for development, we could not do the work we do today. We rely on the support and kindness of our network, of our partners, but most of all, of our donors. By becoming a recurring donor, you make it possible for us to keep growing, keep developing, and to keep sharing our skills and creating moments of understanding. Signup as a donor today: mwb.to/donate #NowMoreThanEver #25years #musicianswithoutborders

Then: In 2013, 25 young music leaders graduated from our first training course in Rwanda, and ran workshops and support sessions for 1,500 children living with HIV. Now: Over 225 young music leaders have been trained, reaching up to 100,000 children and youth living with HIV, living as refugees, living in poverty, living with disabilities, and living in conflict regions across Rwanda, and in Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo In over a decade, through working consistently with local partners and gradually building capacity, we’ve been able to support Rwanda Youth Music to become the organization it is today. The success of the project meant that this year we were able to launch a new program, Kivu Youth Music, in DR Congo, building on the success and lessons learned in Rwanda. This kind of change is achieved over time, with consistent effort, attention, and support. That’s why we place sustainability as a core tenet of our work. To do this, we rely on the support and kindness of our network, of our partners, but most of all, of our donors. By becoming a recurring donor, you make it possible for us to create projects that last far into the future. Only with consistent support, can projects like Rwanda Youth Music become places of support, that exist to elevate their communities. Signup as a donor today: https://ow.ly/5lBy50SuqLk #NowMoreThanEver

Are you a cultural worker, facilitator, or music educator looking to gain skills in working with vulnerable participants? Spaces are running out on our next training course in September, in partnership with LeedsBeckettUniversity. Our Music Leadership training makes full use of our Welcome Notes methodology, developed over 20 years through our work with refugees and vulnerable people dealing with post-conflict trauma. Register your interest ASAP to avoid missing out! Full info and registration: https://ow.ly/GVbT50SuwFE

About yesterday... We gathered together with our friends, partners, musicians in the stunning Koepel Hall in Amsterdam to celebrate our 25th anniversary, commemorating the past, present, and future of Musicians Without Borders! Through music, conversation, poetry, and a healthy dose of body percussion we commemorated 25 years of social change through art and connection. Amid the celebrations, our message as an organization remained clear: in times of conflict, the role of music and artists is crucial. We'd like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who made it all possible. To our gracious hosts Laura Hassler and Yigit Aksakoglu. To all the speakers who shared their stories. To the musicians who shared their talent with us: @Emily Beynon, Remy van Kesteren, @Adriana Oliveira, Denise Jannah, @Wolf Martini, Sherwin Kirindongo and @Chris Colleye. And to the volunteer crew and organization team without whom the event would not have happened. Here's a first impression of an amazing afternoon, we will share more coming days and weeks. 📷: Charlotte Brand Support our work today: mwb.to/donate #25thanniversary #event #musicforpeace #musicianswithoutborders

“Let’s put this concert on a train to Kosovo and go stop the war.” The impossible suggestion that started it all. 25 years ago it was this simple idea that planted the seed that grew into the organization that we are today. When a choir including Laura Hassler performed a set of Balkan folk songs in Alkmaar, Netherlands at the height of the Balkan wars in 1999, no one in the choir could have foreseen the chain of events that would lead to the creation of an international peacebuilding NGO. Despite a fierce streak of activism and solidarity for the victims of war, the group was unfunded, and had nothing to rely on but their network of like-minded musicians. It was from these elements that Musicians Without Borders was formed: solidarity, determination, hope, and a belief in the transportive and connective power of shared musical experience. In 25 years, we’ve worked tirelessly to make Musicians Without Borders the initiative it is. It hasn’t been easy, and along the way we’ve been blessed by the support of amazing partners, talented musicians, brilliant trainers, and the kindness of people we’ve never met, but with whom we share a belief in music, peace, and the right of every person to live free from the horrors of war. Imagine what we can do in 25 more years! You can help us make that happen this summer by supporting our fundraiser, Now More Than Ever. For our 25th anniversary we want to raise €25,000. Donate today: https://ow.ly/RWjn50SunUN #NowMoreThanEver