Improv for Asylum Kids
European project for children staying at Danish asylum centers. Supported by The European Union.
2018 - now
Improv for Asylum Kids is an innovative music project directed towards children and teenagers between the ages of 9-17 who are currently staying at the Danish asylum centers. The children are taught by the professional musicians and teachers; Mija Milovic and Oliver Laumann. The project was initiated in 2018. By 2020, the project received funding from the European Commision’s Creative Europe program, which makes it possible to further develop the concept and to create a European platform for knowledge sharing within the field. The objective is to test small-scale projects with a European dimension. The learning platform will be launched by the end of 2021.
The purpose of Improv for Asylum Kids is to develop new teaching methods in music by creating a creative and free space that can evoke the children’s joy of music while strengthening their sense of community as well as their interpersonal skills. During every workshop, the children will be educated as voluntary music ambassadors and receive tools to create small impro-sessions even with only a few instruments available, while involving other children in the musical community that the project has created.
In connection with JazzDanmark’s project Jazz Camp for Girls in 2018, the two teachers executed a project at the Danish asylum center Avnstrup. They experienced a massive interest in the project, as well as a lack of music activities at the centers. At the asylum centers, children of various nationalities reside - many of them for several years - while living with serious traumas from experiences, that no children should ever witness.
We experienced that the impro-teaching method as the source for learning, creative thinking, and unity was very beneficial. The music created joy and excitement which also helped dissolve language and cultural barriers while replacing them with a creative, safe, and open space for the children.
Free learning platform is now online
In collaboration with the musicians and composers Mija Milovic and Oliver Laumann and with support from the European Commission, JazzDanmark is happy to launch a new, online and free learning platform (use Chrome to get the best experience).
