Singing ‘supports social cohesion’ for young refugees

Singing and music-making can help benefit social cohesion and language skills for young refugees, a report has found.

Published by Sing Up Foundation, research was carried out by a team from the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, which studied preexisting literature and analysed new case studies.

In their literature review, researchers found that singing and music-making can play a role in supporting other activities that impact young refugees, including social cohesion and language acquisition.

Through interviews with organisations including Fairbeats, Music Action International, Surrey Arts and Together Productions, the researchers established that singing and music-making sessions also helped the children’s mental health and well-being by “supporting them to feel free, be part of something, feel valued, feel safe and create outlets for their energy”.

‘The dream started to be more’

“For many people caught up in the realities of living as a refugee, daily survival requires high levels of engagement and energy,” notes the report.

“Finding space to be creative and expressive within this context helps connect memories of the past with the ability to imagine a future, to move beyond the momentary to the possible.

“As one participant noted: ‘Then the dream started to be more’.”

The report also explored how the differing situations and legal statuses of young refugees affected their ability to access and engage in music-making activities.

Some participants lived in camps in unsafe and unstable conditions, while others were seeking asylum and living in a more protected but uncertain environment or had full refugee status with access to education, housing and a full range of support.

Given the wide-ranging circumstances of the young people involved, the report highlighted the need for music leaders and facilitators to have appropriate training and psychological support to deal with and manage the effect that working in these environments can have on their own lives.

The report’s recommendations have been used to create a three-year continuation of the project with the inclusion of children’s voices in longitudinal research and the development of a user-friendly evaluation framework for organisations.