This presentation explores how the incorporation of folk percussion instruments from the Eastern Mediterranean can function as a pedagogical tool to enhance students’ awareness of cultural heterogeneity, social inclusion, and the counteraction of racism and xenophobia. Rooted deeply in cultural heritage, these traditional percussion instruments offer a rich experiential learning platform, enabling learners to engage meaningfully with diverse musical traditions, including those of the Roma, Turkish, Arab, and African diaspora communities. The selection of these particular traditions is deliberate, given their historical and ongoing experiences of marginalization and racial discrimination in Western contexts, alongside their considerable rhythmic complexity and their intrinsic association with the percussion idioms of the Eastern Mediterranean region. As articulated by Patricia Shehan Campbell (2004), global music education transcends the mere replication of sonic textures and rhythmic patterns; it constitutes a process of intercultural understanding and consciousness-raising. The integration of heterogeneous musical traditions within traditional percussion pedagogy necessitates a critical educational framework that fosters reflective inquiry into the socio-cultural positioning of these communities, their experiences of exclusion, and the multiplicity of identities that co-construct social reality. In this regard, the current study proposes the development of a multimodal instructional resource comprising: • Rhythmic analyses of traditional percussion instruments across diverse cultures, situated within their respective historical and socio-political contexts. • Collaborative, project-based learning activities facilitating student composition with and without percussion instruments. • Facilitated classroom dialogues addressing concepts such as cultural identity, postcolonial musicology, and contemporary forms of discrimination. • Fieldwork assignments enabling students to produce narrative content and conduct interviews with representatives of the aforementioned cultural groups, thereby embedding authentic voices within the curriculum. Given their unique position at the intersection of artistic and general education, Public Secondary Schools for Music are well placed to serve as loci for cultural sensitization, contingent upon the adoption of educational frameworks and curricula that embody principles of inclusivity and dynamic multiculturalism, as theorized by Elliot (1989).

• Music education for social justice and equality
• Curricula and critical approaches

Zoe Keselopoulou

She attended the Music School of Thessaloniki. In 2010, she graduated with honors (8.82 GPA) from the Department of Music Science and Art at the University of Macedonia. In 2019, she obtained a master's degree (in-person) from the Department of Theology and Culture at the University of Nicosia, with the grade Summa Cum Laude (Excellent with special distinction). Her thesis focused on: *"Folk Song as an Instructional Tool in the Religious Education Curriculum at All Educational Levels."* Since 2010, she has been working as a teacher of Folk Percussion and Music Ensembles at Music Schools, as well as a music educator in daycare centers, music schools, and creative activity centers. At the same time, she actively participates in concerts in Greece and abroad as a percussionist and vocalist.