Music for social change in Brno

Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, despite a low poverty rate overall, has identified 16 areas at risk of social exclusion. Mostly located close to the city center and populated by 12-15 000 citizens, these areas are home to mainly Roma people – the major ethnical minority in Brno. Experts estimate that 78% of Roma children leave school early, compared with a regional average of 2.7%.  To deal with this situation, Brno municipality welcomed the proposal of the URBACT network ONSTAGE transferring the good practice of L’Hospitalet, namely of  the Municipal Music School and Arts Centre (EMMCA)  , an education scheme that improves social inclusion through arts and music. Even before ONSTAGE, the municipality co-financed a music programme provided by local organisations and ran high-quality affordable music schools (ZUŠ) for children throughout the city, but  children from socially challenged backgrounds were usually unattending.   Through ONSTAGE a wide variety of stakeholders, including representatives from the municipality and the region, all local non-profit organizations and schools situated in the target areas have been brought together to introduce the educational music program similar to EMMCA’s one in 10 target schools.   Brno’s pilot program began in September 2019 in the primary school ZŠ nám. 28. Října, extending the morning curricular programme with an extra music lesson for 5th to 9th grade classes. In parallel, another music program was started in a newly opened kindergarten, MŠ Sýpka, which entailed the setting up of a weekly group music course and the purchase of musical instruments.   At the end of November 2019, a free-of-tuition community choir ONSTAGE was established. In January 2020, another music program in the primary school ZŠ Merhautova (3x2h/week) was opened.   In the spring of 2020, all the programs were well established, but encountered a halt during lockdown. However, despite the slowing of activities due to Covid-19, group violin, cello and guitar lessons began in two primary schools — and in September 2020, 37 students signed up for guitar lessons, four times more than the year before. As a result, the project had a real impact on the understanding and use of music for social change.