Music Bus
on wheels
Launched in 2003, The Music Bus is a mobile workshop
run by local music educators and psychologists for children
in the villages and collective refugee settlements of Srebrenica
and Tuzla in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Music Bus provides workshops in music, drama and dance
that create safe and joyful experiences in the arts for children
who need healing from the lingering after-effects of the war.
When the workshops include children from both rural and urban
areas, as they often do, they facilitate reconciliation and
appreciation of cultural differences. The Music Bus reaches
as many as a thousand children per year and its impact on families
and communities is much wider than that.
Sebrenica
No place recalls the trauma caused by the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina
more profoundly than the municipality of Srebrenica, where 7000
men and boys were killed. Since the end of the war, the entire
region has struggled to recover its vitality and sense of community.
Music workshops in schools
With the strong support of school administrators and teachers,
community center administrators and parents, the Music Bus now
offers workshops in schools and community centers. The Music
Bus team also started Children’s Music Theater in the
center of Srebrenica, offering classes in music, dance, and
drama to children from both rural areas and the town. Twice
a year, the Music Theater produces shows for the public providing
unique examples of interethnic cooperation for a region still
divided by ethnic conflict.
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Reingetration and revitalization
Municipal authorities view Music Bus/Music Theater to be an
important contribution to the municipality’s strategies
for social reintegration and revitalization. The Music Bus’s
team leader has become a member of the Board of the Dom Kulture,
the region’s major cultural institution, and advises local
schools about the use of the arts in education.
Smiles of glee and enthusiasm
The arrival of the Music Bus is always greeted with smiles of
glee and enthusiasm from the many children it serves.
The Music Bus is currently a project of Muzičari bez Granica
(MwB BiH).
 www.see-mwb.org
more information:
Amir Bašic, amirbasic@hotmail.com
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