As part of this project, the associations Sourrire and Ryse joined forces to organize artistic and well-being workshops aimed at strengthening family bonds in a complex migratory context. From May to September 2024, painting and writing workshops helped 80 children and young people, along with their families, overcome isolation and discover therapeutic tools. Art served as a means of expression and communication for all participants, regardless of their linguistic origins. The regained confidence fostered integration, notably through participation in other activities such as language courses offered by the project organizers.

The project concluded with a public event where several refugees, through the writing workshops, shared their moving stories. They provided an intimate and authentic perspective on the challenges faced by those seeking refuge and safety in a new country. For many, it was the first time they spoke publicly about these past and ongoing hardships.

The “We-Learn, Create & Connect” project is an educational and intercultural initiative succeeding the “Read, Write, Create and Go” project, which was completed in August 2023 and funded by the Sommer Foundation. It aims to address gaps in informal education for children and young people in migrant and refugee reception centers in Luxembourg.

The planned musical and dance activities will allow beneficiaries to immerse themselves in the cultures represented within the group. In summary, the project’s name reflects its community dimension (“WE”) as a local action; its educational aspect (“LEARN”), where the teaching team shares its expertise and learns from the participants; its creative component (“CREATE”), which fosters creativity; and its relational aspect (“CONNECT”), which builds or strengthens interpersonal connections among all participants. The activities are designed to provide a supportive extracurricular environment that promotes cultural awareness, psychomotor skills, imagination, creativity, and autonomy, aiming to encourage the emotional, social, and educational development of children and young people from disadvantaged families.

Reboredo’s Music School is a project in Luxembourg, founded in 2016 by João Miguel Reboredo, which uses music to promote social inclusion. It aims to provide access to music for people with or without disabilities, highlighting diversity. Music lessons tailored to different ages and specific needs are taught by qualified instructors who adjust their approach to meet each student’s individual needs.

The project “Inclusion Takes Center Stage,” led by the Reboredo’s Music School and the association ZEFI – Zesummen fir Inklusioun asbl, aimed to promote inclusion through music for children of various nationalities, some of whom have disabilities. Students with special needs, who face challenges in integrating into “traditional” music education, first received individual sessions, followed by small group workshops where they explored music alongside neurotypical students. Using techniques such as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), which enables communication through symbols and images, the students collectively prepared a final concert entitled “All Together,” presented at Place du Marché in Differdange.

This project aimed to equip teenagers and young adults from Luxembourg and beyond, who are involved in socio-educational and inclusive projects with or for other young people, by expanding and consolidating their practices. During daily workshops, they learned new methods of communication and inclusion using theatrical and performance techniques.

The preparation and realization of several public performances as well as an exhibition during the project aimed to raise public awareness about the use of theater and performance in working with young people, focusing on human rights, inclusion, and diversity. Armed with the knowledge acquired and practiced during the project, the participants developed a booklet of recommendations on inclusion in theater and performing arts.

MY VOICE IS MY POWER is a choral project organised by Douri non-profit organisation. This project aims to bring together young people from different cultures and languages. In spite of their differences, they are encouraged to communicate. Their common language is music.

Through music, the young people have been introduced to each other’s culture. They identified what they have in common and work to accept diversity. The group was made up of young people from immigrant and local backgrounds. In addition to working on voice, repertoire and choral singing, the group has strengthened its cohesion and acceptance of diversity. The workshops were led by Maestro Shafi Badreddin.

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“Bringing together, sharing, creating, exchanging, expressing oneself, interacting and dialoguing” : these are the values of capoeira. Between dance, percussion and music, it inculcates humility, allows the surpassing of oneself and the learning of respect for others. Capoeira has always had the vocation to include and bring people together. Throughout the year 2020, Abadá Capoeira Luxembourg celebrates its 20 years of existence and cultural and social action. In this context, the Sommer Foundation is financing the project “La Roda” (the round, as the participants form a circle) which will culminate in a capoeira show performed with the pupils of the primary school of Bonnevoie-Gellé and the children and teenagers of the Abadá Capoeira Luxembourg club. To prepare for this performance at the primary school of Bonnevoie-Gellé, the pupils are taking classes in capoeira, Afro-Brazilian dances and Brazilian percussion. Through these workshops where “music makes the body speak”, young people from all walks of life are introduced to Afro-Brazilian culture and experience a new space for intercultural exchange. Via “La Roda”, the capoerist apprentices develop their self-esteem and creativity, but also their ability to express themselves and exchange.