June 21, 2023
	Bergen, NO

Music4Change International Research School & Mentorship Hub 2023

Presentation

Georgia Nicolaou PhD Candidate, Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, AP / University of Antwerp

Moving Towards Resilience: Joint Creation through Music and Movement for Local, Refugee and Immigrant Children

Keywords: music, movement, children, resilience, community music, inclusion

In an era of constant change and threats from political conflicts, viruses and climate change, children are among the most seriously impacted, due to their youthfulness and lack of social power (UNHCR, 2022). While many seek refuge in European countries hoping for a better future, their struggle often continues, facing difficulties at school, within peer community and their broader social circle. Music has proven to act as a powerful tool to stimulate empowerment, and social bonding (Kenny, 2016).

The starting point is the idea that the integration of joint music making and moving together, can help to build resilience (Nijs & Nicolaou, 2021). The focus lies on the role of bodily movement in music education for heterogenous groups of local, newly arrived immigrant and refugee children. During my PhD research I aim to investigate the potential of the participatory aspect in designing movement-based musical activities to promote resilience. What artistic and educational competences are needed to design empowering movement-based musical activities? What is the role of co-creation in a child-centered methodology?

I will present a part of the artistic-pedagogical framework that consists of workshops for children to engage in a creative process using music, movement, composition and improvisation (Marsh, 2017). These workshops aim to promote a safe space for the children to express their interests in music, welcome their musical memories and teach them to approach the multiplicity of sound and movement with an open mind. They include activities such as collective improvisation, body percussion, instant composing, graphic scores and movement-based activities supported by the Laban Bartenieff Movement System.