CENTRAL EAST AFRICA

Kivu Youth Music

In North Kivu, DR Congo, levels of conflict continue to spiral, resulting in the world’s most neglected humanitarian crisis. In 2023, over 1.5 million people were displaced in the region, due to a dramatic resurgence of attacks by armed groups. Young people are particularly vulnerable. Hundreds of thousands of children are displaced by conflict, away from schools, friends and often their families.

In this deeply conflict-affected region, Kivu Youth Music engages young people through music-making as a nonviolent approach to building communities that are prepared to act creatively and peacefully for their future.

About the program

In 2021, faced with an increasingly urgent and violent situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Rwanda Youth Music team came to us with an idea for a new project, to help the people of DR Congo and provide support. The Rwanda Youth Music team trained a group of young community leaders to use music with children and youth directly affected by conflict. Their work grew year upon year, and in 2023 the Kivu Youth Music team ran workshops with over 3,500 young people living in Internally Displaced People camps and orphanages.

In 2024, we launched Kivu Youth Music as a full partnership between Musicians Without Borders and the Congolese NGO, Global Vision for Africa.

Support for children and youth affected by conflict

The Kivu Youth Music team run weekly workshops for children and youth who are directly affected by conflict, in Internally Displaced People camps and in orphanages. The music leaders are trained by the Rwanda Youth Music training team, in Musicians Without Borders’ methodology. The workshops provide creative, expressive, and joyful experiences for the young participants.

Music of the Landscape

We are pioneering new musical responses to the impacts of climate change that fuel conflict in DR Congo. In partnership with the Dutch committee of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN NL), Global Vision for Africa, the local Federation of Scouts (FESCO), and the Delia-Ndaro Cultural Center, we are mobilising music leadership and deeply embedded cultural connections to nature in order to foster youth climate resilience.