Music moves us

Summary

“Music moves us” has involved the participation of forty young people from different backgrounds living in Andalusian municipalities. The aim is to improve the integration and social perception of the migrant minors, adolescents and young people groups in Andalusia. The workshops have culminated in several concerts in Andalusian cities involved in this action to raise awareness in the local community about the situation of children, adolescents and youth who have experienced a migratory process, promoting education and the construction of inclusive values and attitudes, the recognition and perception of diversity, using music as an instrument.

The recording of a video clip and the holding of a concert in each of the cities, with the collaboration of local musicians, will serve to show the public the work carried out by the young boys and girls during the workshops. In May, the documentary “La músicia nos mueve (Music moves us)” will be released and will be shown in different spaces, including streaming platforms such as Filmin.

According to data from the Andalusian Strategy for Immigration 2021 - 2025, in 2021 the community welcomed a total of 2,873 unaccompanied minors who arrived to the Andalusian coast. About 72% come from Maghreb countries, especially Morocco and Algeria, while the rest come from Sub-Saharan Africa. Once they reach the age of 18, this group of young people is deprived of protection and is often the victim of prejudice and discrimination.

These workshops are part of the project #TÚTAMBIÉN/ أيضا أنت#, implemented by FAMSI, with the support and funding of the Andalusian Agency for International Development Cooperation (AACID in Spanish), in close collaboration with the Directorate General for Children of the Ministry of Equality, Social Policies and Conciliation.

Impact

Local governments find themselves in a unique situation. On the one hand, they are the public authorities that deal most directly with citizens and, on the other hand, they are also responsible for managing political instruments in areas with particular circumstances calling for immediate action to guarantee coexistence, respect and solidarity among citizens.

It is therefore necessary to develop initiatives and implement projects that reinforce collaboration between Local Authorities, Civil Society Actors and those responsible for Educational Policies in order to promote public policies that are more coherent with the processes of sustainable human development.

FAMSI regards music as a medium that fosters relations of coexistence, while at the same time promoting the transformation of social reality. Music is in itself a communicative and inclusive activity, in which each and every member of the group has a place in it and is indispensable for the final result. In a cultural project, based on space and musical genre, all members have a common goal, which fosters group cohesion and a sense of belonging, facilitating the emergence of a relationship of equality between all members.

Similarly, musical activity is inclusive in the sense that it is a participatory activity performed in a public space. Music concerts, regardless of the musical style or culture in question, generate a space of relationship and "communion" between the people attending the event. Moreover, it is a universal medium, in the sense that all cultures produce and reproduce musical forms that are also appreciated by people from other cultures.

Lessons Learnt

The initiative focuses on the reality of minors, adolescents and young people "on the move" who come to our municipalities.

Foreign youth who have been in the protection system (some under guardianship and others not), when they reach the age of majority live different situations depending on the support they have. There are also young people who have been under guardianship or in a street situation in Ceuta and Melilla and when they reach the age of 18, they cross to the peninsula and find themselves in a street situation. 

At the level of the Spanish State, in the Registry of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors, as of December 31, 2019, a total of 12,417 minors were registered under the guardianship or foster care of the protection services. According to the Registry data, Andalusia takes in 4,617 minors, although this figure is currently lower. In Andalusia we can say that there is no homogeneous profile of migrant children and adolescents; we are talking about boys and girls between 10 and 17 years of age who come from Maghreb countries, mainly Morocco, and West African countries. The migratory journey has a variable duration and for some young people it means being in a street situation for the first time. 

In Andalusia, minors also experience special situations of vulnerability, which have to do with the time they spend in CATES (Temporary Assistance Centers for Foreigners), the violation of the presumption of their minority age due to the way in which age determination tests are applied, the lack of adapted translation and specialized legal assistance on arrival at the Andalusian coasts. 

Both minors and young people can experience situations of mistreatment and racism. The hate and xenophobic speeches they suffer, if they constitute a crime, must be categorically denounced by the Public Prosecutor's Office and judicially prosecuted according to the law. The first way to prevent hate speech is to penalize those who want to take political advantage of communication strategies that use minors in vulnerable situations as a political weapon. Secondly, the prevention of hate crimes is "neutralized" with an exemplary performance of the entity that takes care of these minors, avoiding any situation of unprotection and creating a parapet against xenophobic attacks. Finally, and thirdly, it is possible to prevent hate crimes through socio-community participation mechanisms (community information, community participation, work with the local police, positive narratives). 

The methodology and activities implemented by this project aim to be a partial response to this discrimination, through awareness and action by local governments, promoting education and construction of values and non-discriminatory attitudes and respect towards other cultures and peoples, considering training, in this case through music, and awareness as an important tool for the transmission of values.

This proposal is a clear commitment to raise the awareness of Andalusian society and the commitment of local governments.