With the current invasion of Ukraine recalling the disastrous consequences of European totalitarianisms as instigators of armed conflicts and genocides, the project aims at addressing analytically, as well as promoting artistically, the cultural and political role of music in contexts of opposition and resistance to oppressive regimes.
The project will organize three types of event:
1) Public concerts aimed at recalling the consequences of the European wars and genocides of the 20th and 21st centuries;
2) Academic events, including an international multidisciplinary symposium at Kaunas University of Technology on the role of music in totalitarian regimes;
3) Popularizing events such as exhibitions, media appearances and educational workshops on the project themes.
The project brings together 27 partners from 15 EU countries and 2 non-EU countries (Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina). The consortium includes museums, universities, musical institutions (orchestras and festivals) and NGOs, including the 2022 Nobel Prize for Peace “Center for Civil Liberties”, based in Kyiv.
Project funding:
EU Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) 2021-2027
Project results:
The general public was reached through concerts featuring works by musicians who were victims of the Holocaust, preceded by lectures and round tables organized at international festivals and NGOs, with a permanent audience.
The Kaunas conference reached out to researchers in musicology, history, and political science contributing to the scientific construction of the memory of the Holocaust and the democratic history of Europe.
The educational component of the project, aimed at young people, presented the historical context of the project, but also got music students acquainted with particular repertoires inherent to the topic.
Decision-makers, opinion leaders, civil servants, and political leaders were also approached to support the events and spread them out at institutional level. Concretely, the project arranged conferences, concerts, publications (both academic and popular), workshops and meetings with institutions and media.
Period of project implementation: 2023-01-01 - 2024-12-31
Project coordinator: FORUM VOIX ETOUFFEES (FVE)
