To read in Dutch, click here.

This summer 'Sounds for freedom' will go on tour! In the refugees shelters located in Amsterdam we give workshops for refugee children. The children will learn some of our songs and they end with a small presentation for their parents.

At the 'OBA Amsterdam' we will give a big concert.

This is an interactive performance where the songs are intertwined in a story and are performed by a professional singer and actress along with a band.

The children from the refugees shelters are invited and so are Dutch-speaking children. They can sing along with the songs they have learned from the workshop during the concert.

“We also work with musicians who came to the Netherlands as refugees themselves.

With them as role models, we hope to inspire the children to live and follow

their dreams too."'

The workshop

Children aged between 5 to 12 years old, are invited to the workshop in the shelter locations. We wil be singing, dancing, making music with small instruments and, above all, having a lot of fun! The children learn songs that we have especially composed for this target group. We mainly practice the choruses, because they are easy to sing along and they can be learned in one workshop.

Together with the activities supervisor of the shelter, we announce the workshop well in advance so that all children - who want to - can participate.

Practical:

The duration of the workshop is 45 minutes.
At the end of the workshop there is presentation
Parents are invited to watch
We provide something delicious to eat
There are no costs involved

"The main goals it that the children having fun, can swing along and consider the songs as ''cool''.

In 2022 we gave a workshop in the Holiday Inn and Savoy Hotel. Watch the video here:

“Words fall short, it was so beautiful.

Thank you very much for this great initiative!”

- De Regenboog Groep Amsterdam -

Everyone is welcome!

In collaboration with the OBA and MidzomerMokum, the concert is primarily intended as an event for refugee children from the emergency shelters, so that they can enjoy the summer holidays and get away from the shelter for a while. Newcomers who are currently participating in our music and language project 'Free as a Songbird' are also invited to come to the concert.

We also ask Dutch-speaking children from disadvantaged areas of Amsterdam and children from wealthier families to come to the concert. In this way we hope that beautiful encounters will arise and an exchange of (sub) cultures.

Practical

The concert is free
Pre-registration is required (as space is limited)
We provide bus transport with the Groen-Greybus
Children are accompanied by their parents

The concert is interactive, in which the children play the leading role and perform together with the musicians.

We work together with Dutch, Ukrainian and Syrian artists to offer them a stage through this project and to ensure a variation in music styles (pop, jazz, world music).

One of our soloists is Mireille Bittar, a Syrian singer who studied in Damascus and at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. She is the founder and artistic director of the Mosaic Ensemble and has performed in many operas.

She is known for the television program 'We Want More':

Mireille Bittar performs together with the Syrian pianist Feras Khouri and percussionist Modar Salama.

Are you joining?

We and our music teachers are very happy to personally meet you, to give a fantastic workshop and talk about how we can work together with the activities team from the emergency shelter. Let's make it a beautiful moment together.

Of course we organize the workshop, however the activity coordinators from the refugees shelters mainly has contact with the residents. We hope that with their help in announcing the workshops and the concert, we reach as many children as possible.

There will be children who only want to follow the workshop and children who would like to visit the concert. We will make a registration list in advance which meets the children's wishes. There is limited space at the concert (to be determined), which is why this is coordinated in advance and the children have based themselves on the Groen-Greybus to be picked up and dropped back.

Workshops

The workshops are in July or august
Date and time in consultation
Depending on the number of children, we teach several groups at the same time.
Max. 25 children per group
We arrange the meals
Presentation for parents

Concert

In august (exact dates to follow)
How much children can participate will be determined in advance
Registration in advance is necessary
Transport with the Groen-Greybus
Supervision: parents and volunteers

Project leaders Sascha Schaufeli and Tanya Akkerman are organizing the Summer Sounds workshops and concerts.

Tanya Akkerman is the contact person for the refugees shelters. She is Ukrainian and has been in the Netherlands since last year.

That is why she mainly speaks Ukrainian and English.

Email: t.akkerman@soundsforfreedom.com

Phone number/WhatsApp:

+380(66)0167048