The old instruments bringing new opportunities to young lives

Nas Most uses artistic and cultural initiatives to combat loneliness among seniors. Over seven years, informal weekly meet-ups turned into formal painting and handicraft courses and membership grew from 30 to over 100 seniors. The association also organizes events to exhibit members’ works and partners with other groups to create and share podcasts, organize concerts, and offer other artistic events for seniors. Cultural exchanges with organizations in Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and Serbia also help build social connections, which provide physical and mental health benefits for seniors.

Little Kids Rock has helped to revitalize and broaden music education in more than a thousand schools by encouraging children to learn to play popular music, form bands and compose their own songs. Despite a backlash from traditionalists, teaching children to play music they love doesn’t “dumb down” music education—it enriches it.

Why do schools teach music in a way that turns off so many young people rather than igniting their imagination? A program that taps into students’ passion for pop and rock is revitalizing music education in many schools.

Funded by a combination of state grants and private donations, the nonprofit organization, Community MusicWorks, extends the reach and influence of classical music and music education. The nonprofit hosts workshops, lessons, and programs for children in low-income neighborhoods of Providence, RI, with interest in, but limited access to, music programs.

Musical Empowerment provides mentors for children who do not have access to music education in their community. About 160 student-teachers mentor children in instruments like guitar, piano, violin, brass, saxophone, and even voice. The group uses grants and donations to help with technological and internet disparities, as well as provide instruments if needed. Learning music helps young people in many areas of their lives, including self-confidence and self-discipline. Mentors are paired with a mentee based on instrument interest and compatibility, and also experience personal growth from the relationship.

Learning the art of hip-hop provides youth with an alternative to the violence and despair that characterize disadvantaged neighborhoods. In Medellin, Colombia, a program called 4 Elementos teaches kids dance, Dj’ing, rap, and graffiti in a structured way, providing a creative outlet. Hosted in the high school of one the cities most troubled neighborhoods, the program began as an initiative of the Colombian hip-hop group, Crew Peligrosos. Having already reached thousands of kids, the program is looking to expand across Colombia with support from the ABC Foundation.

Taiwan, despite housing 23 million people on a densely populated island, claims one of the highest recycling and reuse rates in the world. The government has created incentives for private companies, which throw some catchy tunes in the mix. But whether or not a country recycles remains, largely, a question of willpower.

Two innovative solutions in Great Britain in education are proving to be highly successful in improving students' performances in math and reading. A school in Edinburgh uses the Daily Mile (spending 15 minutes a day running 6 laps around the school at each student's own pace) as a tool to get students physically fit and intellectually engaged. In Bradford, England, a failing school centered musical education (with a minimum of 3 hours a week in music class) as part of an overhaul of their curriculum, which has been successful in fulfilling students spiritually and strengthening key skills to use elsewhere.

Shirley Apthorp was inspired by Venezuela's El Sistema, a national system that provides impoverished kids access to music education. She wanted to do something similar with opera in South Africa, were the genre was once a privilege enjoyed by white people. So, Apthort created Unculo, an organization that aims to support social change through music.

Mostar Rock School is a school that takes students from both sides of the Nereta river, which divides the Bosnian Croat population and the Bosnian Muslims. The school allows students from different ethnic backgrounds to intermingle, create music, and it defies the ethnic division created after the Bosnian war. “There were 16 students in the first class. This year, there are 128 enrolled and 80 more on the waiting list.”