A music educational program that empowers communities to overcome their boundaries. We’ll build up a high-quality children’s choir with 60 children, who suffer from segregation, unequal cultural and educational opportunities, negative self-esteem. A choir works through cooperation and responsibility. We foster these through common goals: 10 performances in cooperation with different communities and nominated cultural institutions, involving families and schools. Common success builds bridges.

Kőbánya and Csepel, outskirts of Budapest, Hungary, where poverty is concentrated.

Our participants live in marginalised outskirts of the capital , mostly in poverty. They’re excluded from good quality educational and cultural services, struggling with discrimination and financial difficulties. Most of the families, despite all their will, are not able to provide a supportive background for their children, which local schools are unable to compensate for. This leads to a lack of cooperation and prejudices on both sides.
Families live in physical and mental isolation: they don’t have any contacts with people from different social backgrounds and from different cultures. As a result of all these circumstances, children grow up with negative self-assessment and a lack of empathy, often engaging themselves with anti-democratic and violent ideas.

Our prior target group is 60 children in the choir (20 new children), and their families, who’ll be involved as helpers and volunteers. Schools of the children (one school in Kőbánya, one in Csepel) will be hugely involved: they’re providing location for the rehearsal, class teachers taking part in all our activities, experiencing our methods. Principals will visit performances, contributing to build up connections with the parents and partners. Families of the children will be encouraged to overcome isolation. Children and their families from privileged schools will get help to overcome prejudices through the joy of this project. Kids and families of Superar Slovakia will benefit from the cultural exchange, journey to Hungary and a performance in front of 40000 people in Sziget Festival.

Our methodology-being constantly improved by the European network-is built on respecting children’s rights, using positive pedagogy, celebrating diversity, aiming artistic excellence, rehearsing at least 4 hours a week, providing visibility, promoting international exchange, being free of charge
Steps:
Rehearsals 4 times a week in 2 groups parallel, perform all together
Organising performances (ongoing)
3 concerts in local social facilities
2 common projects with Superar choir and classes from privileged schools including common performances and gathering for the families
1 performance in each: Hungarian National Gallery, Palace of Arts, Millennium Háza
1 summer camp
2 common performances of Slovakian and Hungarian kids (in Slovakia and on the main stage of Sziget Festival in BP)

Common success and the role of helpers will build up positive self-assessment for children, helping them to contribute to a tolerant, supportive community and to overcome antidemocratic ideas. Common activities will help schools and families to build up more cooperative relationships, and all together a more supportive environment for the children. Families will be encouraged to visit cultural institutions, and get in touch with parents from different social backgrounds. Cooperation with the Slovakian organisation will raise their consciousness about being part of European community. Stakeholders in mainstream cultural life and school communities from privileged circumstances will be encouraged to make steps against unequal opportunities.

We’ll fight unequal opportunities by providing our project free of charge. With the help of schools we reach out for the most isolated families. We don’t have a selection process based on knowledge or talent. We’ll promote a dialogue with privileged schools and cultural institutions strengthening their sense of social responsibility.
Singing in a choir requires high-level cooperation, empathie and responsibility. Children experience that a community achieves bigger goals, than the individual. Common success strengthens their self-confidence, helping them to become tolerant, open-minded citizens. Experiencing children’s success engages families to participate as volunteers, building up stronger relationships with schools, overcoming isolation, taking part in cultural and social dialogues.

We’re young teachers, and we are determined to make our educational system more sensitive and well-prepared for social problems, especially where hopelessness reigns, and political discourses act against solidarity. We want to refresh the ideas of our national composer, Zoltán Kodály, and take it seriously: “Musik belongs to everyone.” We believe that music has the power, that can overcome all boundaries, and can build a tolerant and supportive community, where diversity is a gift. We believe that education has to play an important role in promoting equal opportunities, and provide access to cultural goods for the whole society.

Personnel costs: 20 000 Euro
- 1x Half time project manager - 6000 Euro
- 2x Half time music teacher - 10000 Euro
- 1x Half time project assistant - 4000 Euro

Operational costs, accountant, website, communication: 3000 Euro
Travel and accommodation costs (for Slovakian and Hungarian groups): 2000 Euro
Summer camp costs: 1000 Euro

We’d be grateful for any kind of advice, comment and feedback, especially those helping to expose the parts of our project description, that still need to be clarified.