EME abroad

In 2018, El Sistema Greece approached the Fondation EME for an exchange of experience between the young participants of El Sistema Greece and the foundation's musicians.

El Sistema Greece is a community music project that provides free music education to children and youth in Greece. It is especially active for refugees, facilitating their inclusion in their host country.

As Joyce DiDonato et les musiciens de l'ensemble Il Pomo d'oro did before them, the three OPL musicians from Trio Vivace Irène Chatzisavas, Sébastien Grébille and Emmanuel Chaussade presented their work as professional musicians to the children. They practised music with them and gave them advice.

The musicians of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra took the opportunity of their tour of Germany, Austria, Turkey and Greece to participate in this project, as they gave their last concert of the tour in Athens. Sharing the values of inclusion through music, it was natural for the Fondation EME to start this first cooperation with El Sistema Greece…

Find out more about El Sistema Greece

The Fondation EME now wishes to relaunch such a social action during the tour in South America, and more precisely in Buenos Aires at Barrio 31, a disadvantaged neighborhood with approximately 40,000 people living in it and located within walking distance from downtown Buenos Aires.

In order to organise the five planned musical interventions, the Fondation EME is supported by Tomas Galmarini, director of Barrio31 and responsible for integration at the Buenos Aires City Hall. Three ensembles specially formed for this occasion were willing to play in this neighborhood. Thus the Fondation EME can organise two concerts in the courtyard of a large public school (about 300 children) on the morning of September 23 and 30 and a musical intervention for the general public in their community house on Sunday, September 29 around 16.00.

At the invitation of Friendship, musician Robert Bodja will travel to Bangladesh to train volunteers and educators working in the Rohingya refugee camp. The goal is to offer musical and cultural activities at the camp and to restore diginity and joy to the camp.

The Rohingya crisis has become one of the largest humanitarian crises in recent times, requiring relief and support in an unprecedented speed and scale. Almost a million Rohingya have entered Bangladesh from Myanmar since the violent attacks upon them began in August 2017. At present, the estimated total affected population (e.g. previously existing refugees, new arrivals and Bangladeshis living in the affected areas of Cox’s Bazar district) is about 1.3 million people.