Musicians without Borders - War Divides, Music Connects

WHO WE ARE (2:53)

Why Music?

‘You may be poor, you may only have a ramshackle house, you may have lost your job, but that song gives you hope.’

Nelson Mandela

Where war has raged, people need everything to return to life: food, water, shelter, clothing, medicine. But more than anything, people need hope. To reconcile, people need empathy. To heal, people need connection and community.

Music creates empathy, builds connection and gives hope.

Who We Are

‘If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.’

Jimi Hendrix

Since 1999, we’ve been using the power of music for peace-building, connecting people, empowering musicians as social activists, and training local youth as change-makers.

Our long-term commitment allows our participants the time to develop skills and talents, process grief and loss, and build bridges of reconciliation in societies divided by recent or ongoing conflict.

ABOUT STAFF PARTNERS & DONORS CONTACT

WHAT WE DO

Our mission is to bridge divides, connect communities, and heal the wounds of war using the power of music.

PROGRAMS

TRAINING

ADVOCACY

Soy Música

Together with Salvadoran music teachers and community leaders, we share tools to give children at-risk feelings of safety, inclusion, creativity and joy.

El Salvador

Mitrovica Rock School

The Mitrovica Rock School restores rock music culture to the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, Kosovo.

Mitrovica, Kosovo

Music Bridge

Music Bridge is a multi-year collaborative project to create sustainable community music programs within Northern Ireland’s divided communities.

Northern Ireland

Palestine Community Music

We train young Palestinians to become music workshop leaders for children in camps and isolated villages in the West Bank.

Palestine

Rwanda Youth Music

Since 2010, we have worked with medical and community organizations to bring music to thousands of children in Rwanda.

Rwanda

Welcome Notes

Bringing comfort, solidarity and hope to war refugees through music.

Italy, Germany, The Netherlands

Community Music & Health

We're training youth leaders to use the power of music to address the effects of HIV in young people.

Uganda

Training Programs

Are you a musician? Train with us to develop skills in using music as a tool for peace-building and social change.

Tailored Training & Workshops

We offer tailored training courses and workshops in community music and nonviolence for musicians, arts and community organizations, businesses, conferences, and universities.

Testimonials

Read testimonials by participants of our past professional training courses.

Representation

We share our knowledge and expertise at conferences, seminars and expert meetings.

Expert Meetings

A series of expert meetings for musicians and organizations who use the arts in social inclusion processes in different European countries and contexts.

Written Work & Research

We publish papers and and collaborate with researchers to advocate the use of music for reconciliation, healing and social change.

NEWS & UPDATES

February 22, 2018 press release

Safeguarding

Safety is a guiding principle that steers our work with communities affected by war and armed conflict: to ensure a safe space for everyone who participates in our programs.
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April 23, 2018 photo album

Rwanda Team: MwB Community Music Leadership Training

At the weekend, a new training course in MwB Community Music Leadership began in Rwanda's Eastern Province, led entirely by a team of Rwandan musicians and community leaders trained by Musicians without Borders. The trainees are 20 community members (aged 13-50) who are engaged with supporting young people facing limited opportunities due to poverty, illiteracy, rural unemployment, gender based violence, and formerly living as street children. This training shares the skills and experience developed since 2010 at our partner WE-ACTx for Hope, and is organised with the organisation Ready for Reading.
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April 23, 2018 photo album

Community Music Training: Heek, Germany

Last weekend, we returned to the Landesmusikakademie NRW to provide training to musicians who work with refugee communities in Germany.
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April 20, 2018 video

My Life: Rap Workshops with SOS Children’s Villages Italy

In March, MwB trainers led rap workshops with unaccompanied refugee youth in collaboration with SOS Children's Villages Italy. Together, they wrote and performed their own rap.
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