Only 5 days left to support our
Music for Za'atari Kickstarter!
Bring Music to the Children of Syria 
at Za'atari Refugee Camp in Jordan

  Please pledge today to support our August 19-26 visit by musicians from the MET Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, the New World Symphony, and the Verbier Festival to bring hope and healing to Syrian refugee youth and children

 

The road to Za'atari Camp

NEXT WEEK, just seven months after our acclaimed Shostakovich for the Children of Syria concert at Carnegie Hall, Music For Life International will bring a string quartet of distinguished musicians to Za'atari Refugee Camp for a week of concerts and music education activities with the Syrian refugee youth and children there. The visit is being facilitated by our hosts and partners in Jordan, QUESTSCOPE, a visionary organization dedicated to empowering marginalized youth and children through mentoring and education so that they can become compassionate citizens. This residency is also enabled and supported by the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Fund at Tufts University's Institute for Global Leadership, which was instrumental in bringing QUESTSCOPE and Music For Life International together.

 

THIS WEEK, we need your help to bring this international string quartet from the MET Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the New World Symphony to Zaatari Refugee Camp, the largest Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. The quartet will present performances of music by Dmitri Shostakovich, Josef Haydn, Alexander Borodin, and Syrian composer Kareem Roustom.

to support these concerts and music education in Za'atari Camp. We can't do it without YOU.

George Mathew working with Questscope staff at Za'atari ahead of our quartet visit

Some of the performances will include special activities for the young audiences at Za'atari including first lessons for a group of young people who will be introduced to the possibilities of string playing for the first time. We plan to introduce basic music education 

concepts such as rhythm, singing skills, and musical literacy, which could be the foundation for a music-based youth empowerment program in Za'atari. 

 

"In Za'atari, this is a unique experience. We can already see how it is reflected in people's work with us and also inside their homes. You can even observe it in their facial expressions and their body language." 
- Questscope Project Manager Mr. Ashraf Abu Halaweh

 

In connection with this residency, the ensemble will hold a workshop and masterclass for string and piano students at the National Music Conservatory/King Hussein Foundation in Amman. 

Questscope 


Putting the last, first

Questscope is an innovative organization dedicated to transforming the future of vulnerable youth and communities by equipping them with the resources and hope they need to become compassionate and productive citizens.

 

Questscope began its work in Jordan in 1986, where it designed and implemented, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the first accredited non-formal education curriculum program of its kind in the Arab World. The program enables thousands of young men and women who had left school to continue their studies. In addition, Questscope developed one of the largest civic engagement programs in Jordan, training 4,000 student volunteers from Jordanian universities to mentor 6,000 young people at risk of juvenile delinquency. Questscope's success in this area led to a joint initiative with the Jordanian Ministry of Social Development and the World Bank, expanding the Questscope mentoring model to every juvenile center in the country.

 

Since its founding Questscope has implemented successful mentoring and education initiatives for thousands of disadvantaged youth, in partnership with UNICEF, UNESCO, the European Union, the World Bank and others. Questscope  has implemented programs in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Northern Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Mauritania and Sudan impacting over 200,000 people since 2002.

 

Questscope has developed highly participatory methodologies on the ground in the Middle East. For over 25 years, Questscope has stepped in to walk alongside the most marginalized youth caught in cycles of poverty, war and abuse, through education and mentoring programs designed to put the last, first. Questscope's integration with community partners and advocacy for restorative justice impacts sustainable transformation at an individual, community and societal level. . Each methodology is rigorously evaluated to learn how to continually improve the ongoing impact.

 

Currently, Questscope operates 35 non-formal education centers and six informal education centers throughout Jordan. Since February 2014, over 750 Syrian youth have participated in mentoring programs in Jordan's Zaatari refugee camp.  Through a unique violence reduction program for children in conflict with the law, Questscope has connected 400 Syrian youth in Zaatari refugee camp with a mentor, and with hope.

 

The Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University 

tuftsgloballeadership.org


The IGL at Tufts University is an incubator of innovative ways to educate learners at all levels to understand and engage with difficult global issues. We develop new generations of effective and ethical leaders who are able and driven to comprehend complexity, reflect cultural and political nuance, and engage as responsible global citizens in anticipating and confronting the world's most pressing problems.

 

The mission of the IGL is to prepare new generations of critical thinkers for effective and ethical leadership, ready to act as global citizens in addressing international and national issues across cultures. In 2005, the IGL was named a distinctive, cross-school program of the University. The Institute emphasizes rigorous academic preparation and experiential learning. Students learn through intensive engagement in classes, global research, internships, workshops, simulations and international symposia - all involving national and international leaders from the public and private sectors. Among its more than 16 programs are EPIIC, Inquiry, the China Cross-Cultural Leadership Program, and EXPOSURE, and it offers many opportunities for global research and internships. IGL activities stress critical and normative thinking, written and oral communication skills, problem-solving, and multidisciplinary approaches. There is an emphasis both on individual progress and on collaborative effort and students produce tangible outcomes to their studies through their research papers, the international forums, and other projects. The Institute promotes the linkage of theory to practice and exposes students to the rigors and challenges of a diverse world. 

 
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5 More Days to Raise $5,000.
It's All or Nothing!

With your generous contribution of any amount, you will be part of this special effort to embrace the young people of Syria, who have already suffered so much, in our global circle of caring.

 

Help us make that difference. Make a   pledge today on Kickstarter and share this appeal with your friends. We have to reach $5000 by Monday August 18th for the project to be funded.

We are more than 30% there and we can make it together with you! 

 

We are grateful to the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizen Fund at Tufts University's IGL and our longtime friends George Landegger and Parsons & Whittemore Inc., who have already contributed $15,000 of what we need to fund this residency. 

 

George Mathew
Artistic Director,
Music for Life International
George with our new violins for the children at Za'atari Refugee Camp


Singapore-born Indian conductor, George Mathew, founder and Artistic Director of MUSIC FOR LIFE INTERNATIONAL and the UBUNTU-SHRUTI Orchestra, has emerged as one of the leading forces in the classical music world bringing symphonic music to focus on global humanitarian issues and crises at the beginning of the 21st Century. In recent seasons, he has appeared in the US, India, Panama, Morocco, and South Africa as conductor and ambassador for transformative social impact through music.
 

George Mathew with Questscope staff and mentors at Za'atari

PRESS COVERAGE
New York Times


music for life international, inc. (MFLI) was created to conceive and present musical concerts and related events to promote the awareness of significant international humanitarian crises and other public interest issues in the United States and throughout the world. MFLI takes its name from the legendary MUSIC FOR LIFE concert led by Leonard Bernstein at Carnegie Hall in 1987.

MFLI is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt not-for-profit organization.