Community music, having music making as its tool, advocates accessibility of all to art (cultural democracy), integration of different musical cultures (cultural diversity), lifelong learning, musical development of the individual without the pursuit of musical perfection and personal and social expression of the individuals as active members of a particular community (Κertz-Welzel, 2016). One of the most common areas where community music is applied is socially vulnerable groups. This term is referred to those population groups who either live in the margin of the broader society or are in high jeopardy of marginalization and social exclusion due to their special characteristics (individuals of low educational and socio-economical level, minorities, immigrants, refugees etc.) (Stamou, 2021). Community music making, for those individuals, becomes the vehicle to be intergraded socially, experience acceptance and improve their level of prosperity and well-being (Troulou, 2021).

            Economic and social developments of the last decades, both nationally and globally, have led to the social exclusion of a large group of people, resulting in the increase of the percentage of the individuals who belong to the socially vulnerable groups. Therefore, the advocacy of the request for social justice, reinforcement of interculturalism and understanding of diversity is more imperative than ever. Bearing these in mind, music education needs to harmonize with the existing socio-cultural circumstances and to embed community music’s practices and approaches (Troulou, 2021). In particular, the social circumstances that occurred in Greece in recent years (both economic and refugee crisis) have significant effects on Greek school reality. Music teachers are frequently required to work with mixed and often heterogeneous student populations, including refugee and immigrant children or children coming from families with significant economic and social difficulties. Hence, music teacher owes to adopt a broader role and include in their lesson new strategies -such as the embracement of a more “community” lesson- so as for the Greek school to constitute what Beineke (2013:288) calls, a place of educating sensitive, thoughtful, “broad-minded’’ towards change and solidary individuals, who will contribute to a better world. 

            In this workshop, participants will be involved in collaborative musical activities occasioned by the movie «Viva Cuba» (2005), a movie that deals with the friendship and love between two children despite their great socio-economic differences. The aim of the workshop is to encourage participants to embrace and plan similar community music activities in order to form an inclusive and creative climate of free expression within classroom and to transform school into an entity of acceptance and unity of the entire society. In particular, participants will: a) create a two/four line verse whose theme will be of one of the movie’s messages and will perform it using the application Arpeggios (Chrome Music Lab) or with rhythmic accompaniment of percussion instruments, b) compose their own music to express the feelings that emerge from the movie using their own musical instruments (rhythmic and melodic percussion instruments), improvised sounds, voice and c) be informed about other music activities that could be implemented  into in-person teaching occasioned by the movie.

            This workshop is the result of attending the annual program “Music and Art with socially vulnerable groups” at the University of Macedonia, with professor Lida Stamou as Scientific Director.

• Μουσικές εμπειρίες στο σχολείο, στο ωδείο και στην κοινότητα
• Μουσική αγωγή, κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη και ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα

Marina Mintza has been working as a music teacher at Primary Schools since 2005 and as a music educator in conservatories and Centers for Creative Education. She holds a Master's Degree in Music Education from the Department of Music Studies (NKUA), Advanced Theory, and is a graduate of the Two-Year Training Workshop of Artistic and Creative Education "ANIMA". She contributes with experiential workshops to conferences, workshops, and music teachers' training programs. In 2018, she released the book "Games with the Musical Tubes Boomwhackers" (published by Fagottobooks) in which she participated as a co-author. She believes that “music is first discovered and then learned’’ and that is why learning music through experiential activities is at the core of her music teaching. 

Dionyssia Tronti is a graduate of the Faculty of Music Studies at the University of Athens, holder of Master’s Diploma (M. Ed) in Music Education from the University of Nicosia, holder of Guitar Soloist Diploma and Music Theory Diploma. She has been teaching Music in Primary Education since 2005. She strongly stands for the active participation and music activity of students in music class, as well as the cultivation of their critical thinking and creativity. She believes that through education, music constitutes a commodity which contributes directly to individual’s well-being and consequently to society’s prosperity. At the same time, she is an active musician, performing as a member of the Guitar Duo Musica Libera, which she has founded along with her husband, guitarist Konstantinos Kirolytis.