SCHOOL FOR PEACE
The project
Allow everyone, residents of Villeneuve-la-Garenne neighborhoods and beyond, to share a privileged moment with each other through the practice of the drums to beat together and share moments of peace.
In 2017, solicited by the Youth and Prevention service of the city of Villeneuve-la-Garenne as part of the educational action, Drummers For Peace, is implementing drums practice workshops, for students in situations of school exclusion.
A complementary tool to existing educational structures, this proposal quickly turns into a broader experience and takes the name of the School for Peace.
A special relationship is established with schools, professional teachers, educators, but also with parents who end up registering for workshops with their children, thus forming a wider and intergenerational circle of student artists.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES
At the basis of the workshops, a motivation close to that which led to the creation of Drummers For Peace, in the aftermath of the 2015 attacks : putting peace at the heart of reflections and actions, combining music and time for dialogue around questions of citizenship, recreating a social bond in neighborhoods.
This involves an approach to music and drums without prior knowledge of music theory. Through research, inspired by Gospel, for group development.
We are committed to imagining a sensitive and intuitive approach to drums and music in general.
LEARN TO LEARN
The methodology of the School For Peace draws heavily on the Gospel tradition. Practiced by African-American communities in the United States, at the source of many musical trends, Gospel is an effective prevention tool for children. It combines the practice of music in a group and the development of a spirituality imbued with moral values, allows to develop a sense of the collective.
We address notions of know-how and interpersonal skills through music which allow students to create a new environment. Resulting from individualized coaching, our method is based on the development of listening, concentration, mimicry and the importance of the present moment. Be in action rather than theory. We rely on a musical culture that ranges from Blues to classical music, from Bach to Ray Charles.
AN INTUITIVE METHOD
The music theory, the corpo-rhythm, are complementary aids in individualized support for students who encounter difficulties or are looking for musical information. They allow immersion in the game and develop autonomy by promoting faster absorption of their practice.
They are used to working in parallel, in reinforcement in the courses for an upgrade in plenary, allowing to spend time on a detail, but they are one-off help. The reading of musical information does not precede the intuitive in the game.
DUO EQUALITY WOMEN/MEN
The association «Drummer for Peace» is carrying out a project aimed at audiences of the age group 11- 15 years old and 16- 25 years old, in urban and rural areas of the regional territory of Ile-de-France which aims to develop a reflection and a change in behaviour around gender equality issues.
The gender equality «duo» project of the School of Peace, offers around thirty girls and boy from secondary schools, high schools and associations, to invest for eight months, outside school time, in the project of manufacturing a musical object : a mix-tape which will be entirely written and interpreted by the participants.
Created in 2017 by the association «Drummer For Peace», the School of Peace offers workshops for musical practice and learning the drums, especially to young people in situation of school exclusion. It opens up a space for dialogue to address issues of citizenship, to provide keys to understanding the country in which we live, its rules and our relationship to the institutions of the Republic. Raising young people’s awareness of gender equality issues appears to us to be a major civic challenge.
