travel
Posted by Francois Viguie, 4 months ago
September 11th, Accra airport, Ghana: My flight from Bamako, Mali, just landed in Accra. I'm supposed to meet with Abdul Rahman, director of the school, who is coming to pick me up. I've never met him before but he'll be wearing a Playing For Change t-shirt so I can recognize him. After a brief glimpse at the people waiting in the arrival area of the airport, I see Abdul Rahman. He is smiling and says, "Welcome to Ghana," during our very first hug. We have to jump on a propeller airplane to reach Tamale, where the school is located. The flight is going to be quick and safe.
Tamale looks like a very spread out city, with thousands of little houses covered with sheet-metal roofs. Ghana has the most dynamic economy in Africa, and Tamale has grown very fast over the few last years. The Bizung Music School opens every afternoon between Monday and Friday. Most of the kids are between 8 and 15 years old and attend classes in traditional music, dance, chant and keyboard. I can't wait to meet everybody at the school! The goal of this trip is to maintain a close relationship between the Playing For Change Foundation and the people on the ground, but also to document the progress that has been made at the school since its opening last year.
If the students appear a little shy in front of the camera on the very first days, little by little they seem to forget that I'm filming and start to play the game. I also want to screen some videos for the kids; I'm editing a video on the road for them so they can see themselves on a big screen, but I also have a video message from the kids at the music school in Kirina to the kids in Tamale that I filmed while I was in Mali. The students from Mali are introducing their school to the kids in Tamale and ask them some questions through the video: "What language do you speak?” “What kind of music or instruments do you play ?”
Here is a link to this video message. There are only 850km (around 528 miles) between Kirina and Tamale; that's why we hope that one day we'll be able to create a cultural and musical exchange between the two schools. Kirina and Tamale have a lot in common and a lot to share, too.
This week in Tamale was absolutely beautiful. It has been very emotional to see the passion of our teachers at work and how talented and eager the students are to learn at the school. As words are not enough to share this experience and demonstrate the positive change currently happening in Tamale through this music school, here is a short video that will introduce you to the Bizung School of Music and Dance. You'll see and hear the school’s teachers and students playing and singing during the classes and also giving witness to the impact of this music school on their lives.
If you haven't heard about Playing For Change Day, you need to check this link. The first annual Playing For Change Day is taking place September 17th, and is going to be celebrated by thousands of people all over the world. Musicians are taking to the streets and stages in their communities to raise funds and awareness for Playing For Change Foundation, a non-profit organization that is bringing music education programs to children around the world.
There are many ways you can participate in Playing For Change Day! Musicians, you can create an event in your community, or transform an existing gig you have on September 17th into a PFC Day event. If you are not a musician, you can still host a Playing For Change Day event-- many yoga studios are holding "Yoga For Change" events at their studios; a couple whose wedding is on PFC Day is donating to the cause in lieu of buying party favors for their guests; one young woman is even hula hooping for change! How creative can you get? Log in to playingforchangeday.org and show us!
If hosting an event is not in the cards for you this year, you can still support Playing For Change Day by spreading the word and by attending other folks' events. There are currently more than 75 events to choose from in dozens of countries. Get out there and have fun! Enjoy the music and the community energy of the world coming together to support music education.
Play a Song. Change the World.
-Jeremy
news
Posted by Francois Viguie, 7 months ago
A Sad Day in Kirina: Youssoufou passed away.
A couple of months ago we started a new program at the Kirina Music School: traditional history.
Our teacher was Youssoufou Kamissoko, a 90-year-old wise man who was a descendant of the founders of Kirina. He knew perfectly the long history of Kirina and the history of Mali in general. Every week he traveled to the music school to tell the history of Kirina, and of the Malian Empire to all the village. I say "all the village" because it was not only students from the music school that attended Youssoufou's classes. Teachers from the public school attended; villagers-- men and women eager to learn more about their deep roots attended. We filmed some of these classes in order to document his knowledge and some of the stories he told.
This morning Youssoufou passed away, and with him, a whole heritage has gone. As they say in Mali: "when an old man dies, a whole library disappears..." In a country where the life expectancy is 54 years, to live 90 years is a real accomplishment. I remember interviewing Youssoufou about the creation of the music school. From the beginning of the project, he had always been one of the most enthusiastic people in the village. He told me that he knew that the music school was going to have an international impact, and that in the near future students from other countries where going to come to Kirina to study music at the school.
We are doing our best to honor his words and his commitment for the transmission of African cultural knowledge at the school. Youssoufou, thank you from the bottom of our hearts: we'll never forget you and you've been a true inspiration for the whole village, and for all the people involved in that project.
François
Click here to watch "Dreams of Kirina," a beautiful episode we filmed with with Baaba Maal in Kirina, Mali.
Check out PFC Founder Mark Johnson's interview with CNN International's "Connect the World"
travel
Posted by Mark Johnson, 1 year ago
Well my time at Davos and the World Economic Forum has come to an end. I leave with a strong feeling of optimism. I understand that there is plenty of room for skepticism in the economics of the world, but somehow I feel that music and the arts left a strong impact on leaders of all kinds across the globe.
As I was walking out of the Congress Center on my last day a CEO of a major company stopped me and said after hearing about Playing For Change and watching our One Love video he has decided to implement a new job at his company titled, Chief Music Officer. The role will be to instill inspiration in the work place!
I believe that the power of music is being felt in places we never imagined. This project started Ten Years ago in a subway station with two monks singing and playing guitar. To this day I cannot tell you where they where from or what language they where singing in. I am starting to believe that this is meant to be, as they serve as a symbol that regardless of who we are or where we come from we are all united with music. Let's continue to build a global family with love and inspiration at our core so we honor the message of Roger Ridley, Grandpa Elliott and those monks in the subway station.
Changing the world for the better, and creating peace through music must always start from the inside out. I want to ask all of you to reach out to your friends and families and ask them to join our movement so we can expand our mission to everyone. Music is the greatest tool for healing broken countries, cultures and hearts!!!!
