Over the course of six months, music education students from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and children from the Federal Asylum Centre Zurich (BAZ) come together to make music. These weekly music lessons are integrated into the children's everyday school routine (nursery, primary and secondary school). The project is supervised and evaluated by experts from the ZHdK.
Children are extremely vulnerable, regardless of the circumstances and paths that brought them and their families to Zurich. They live in a state of uncertainty, as for them, the federal asylum centre is only a temporary stop. It is important to give them opportunities that allow them to forget what is or has been going on in their lives. In these music classes, music teachers can spontaneously organise music activities, tell stories through music and create moments of encounter even without language. In offering musical ‘building blocks’, which help to create music in a playful and creative way, they can- ideally- experience magical moments together. The participating students on the other hand, will gain experience in guiding musical processes in a specific socio-cultural and intercultural context. Challenges include empathy and setting boundaries, making music with groups that are constantly changing, leading and accompanying musical events with a minimum of instruments, etc. The teachers of the BAZ classes will benefit from the student’s input and gain paractical suggestions to recreate in their regular classes. The aim would be to secure long-term funding and continue the project in cooperation with the primary school teachers.