“It is good to see the children making music together, overcoming the
social and political obstacles that exist in Jamaica. It is unusual for
different communities to mingle; however, in this program, they do so.” (Instructor, Jamaica).
This initiative was
selected because it is a regional effort that benefits children, adolescents,
and young people in several nations of the Caribbean. Through this project,
international cooperation avails itself of Venezuela’s Choirs and Orchestras
program to offer and implement an education program in which meetings,
coexistence, and the reassessment of artistic skills and teamwork are
facilitated through the arts. Art education, particularly orchestral and choral
music, is recognized as a fundamental part of social development, a basic
element that can bring about changes in self-perception, coexistence,
self-assurance, and confidence in the future among school students.
GOALS SOUGHT
Through systematic
orchestral and choral training activities, taking advantage of the children’s
and young peoples’ talents and strengths, this initiative seeks to develop an
approach that will assist them in making positive use of their free time and
thus reduce the risk factors associated with acts of youth violence.
TARGET AUDIENCE
This initiative’s
participants were two hundred and forty (240) at-risk children, adolescents,
and young people, between the ages of 10 and 18, attending primary school (up
to the sixth grade), middle school (7th to 9th grades),
and high school (10th to 12th) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti;
Kingston, Jamaica; and Castries, Saint Lucia – all places assessed by the UNDP
as having the highest rates of violence in the Caribbean region.
What it involves
The participating children
and young people receive music and singing classes using a methodology that
allows them not only to learn music, but also to develop their capacity for
discipline and teamwork.
ACHIEVEMENTS
The program provides basic skills than can
be transferred to the job market or to the school-workplace transition.
The innovative group orchestra practice
methodology provides the young people with principles and values that are
directly related to education for democratic citizenship, such as
acknowledgement of and respect for others, cooperation, participation, and
respect for authority.
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
The children and young
people participate in the implementation of the program:
- They choose their instruments and express opinions on the music they are to play.
- They establish close ties with their communities through frequent public concerts.
- They participate in assessing the impact, along with their parents and teachers.
TEACHERS’ PROFILE
For the implementation of
the project, a team of coordinators and local instructors was selected. This
selection, carried out by a team of specialists from Venezuela’s Orchestras
System, the Batuta de Colombia program, and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas
(YOA), with the support of local music schools and conservatories, involved a
national call for participants that emphasized not only the best musical
competences, but also an excellent capacity for relating to children and
adolescents.
After selecting the members
of the teaching teams to serve three years in each country, the same team of
trainers organized intensive workshops on the teaching method for the selected
music teachers to replicate the experience. A total of three workshops have
been held.
INVESTMENT AND FINANCING
The cost of implementing
the first stage was eighty thousand (80,000) dollars per center. As of the
third year, the cost began to fall to reach a level of thirty thousand (30,000)
dollars per center.
EVALUATION METHODS AND RESULTS
The evaluation was carried
out by consultants from De Paul University in Chicago and Harvard University.
Questionnaires were
administered to intervention groups and control groups, and group sessions were
held with participants, teachers, and parents.
Use was also made of the
participants’ school reports.
The preliminary impact analyses suggest that the program assisted with the
following progress:
- Reduced feelings of anger among the young people (53% in Jamaica, 33% in Haiti).
- Reduction in aggressive behavior (79% in Jamaica, 73% in Haiti).
- Improvements in social surrounding toward more healthy relations (77% in Jamaica, 35% in Haiti).
- Better academic aspirations (19% in Jamaica, 8% in Haiti).
RISK FACTORS
One of the identified risk
factors is related to the inability to obtain local human resources to receive
training in the teaching method and carry out the program. Another risk factor
has to do with sustainability, given the difficulties in some participating
countries in obtaining long-term financial commitments from the local public
and private sectors.
A third identified risk
factor addresses the potential impact that situations related to given
political and security scenarios at the local level could have on the
participation of children and young people in the program.
CHALLENGES
Technical and financial
assistance has to date been provided by the OAS. The challenge for these
centers is related to their capacity to become self-sustainable and, in some
cases, to even expand their coverage.
REPLICATION POTENTIAL
Once the development of the initiative has
been consolidated in methodological terms, it can be replicated in other
locations.
At the same time, the capacity to expand
the scope of this initiative in the Caribbean will depend on the funds
available for increasing the number of participants.
PERSON IN CHARGE: Mariano Vales. Organization of American States.
(Regional multilateral organization.) mvales@oas.org
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