ESC: Agents of change

Sistema Cyprus is a social-music orchestra and choir programme established in 2018. Sistema Cyprus offers music education to the children and young people of Cyprus, including migrants, refugees and disadvantaged children and young people, and ensures that these disadvantaged groups are respected, recognised, and included in the society. Sistema Cyprus is inspired by the El Sistema social action music programme that was first founded in Venezuela in 1975. Through the formation of orchestras and choirs, El Sistema acts as a superb model, reaching children and young people to many of the world’s underprivileged neighborhoods. El Sistema and other El Sistema inapired programs, like ours, offer free classical music education that gives children and youth with less opportunities all over the world the opportunity for personal development. Sistema Cyprus is focused on the personal development of its participants focusing primarily on empowerment and helping them in reaching their full potential. Currently, Sistema Cyprus operates in Nicosia and Larnaca and engages 200 children and young people in orchestra, choir and community music activities, through the work of 15 professional musicians, 20 musician volunteers and the support of 80 program support volunteers. Sistema Cyprus’ expertise includes community music education and musical instrument teaching to vulnerable populations through a methodology that is adjusted to the model of developing a learning environment based on safety, inclusion, and equality. Finally, Sistema Cyprus is an expert in training young people to use music for promoting social inclusion for refugee, migrant and disadvantaged children and young people. Sistema Cyprus works to educate and empower marginalized populations, providing them with opportunities for social inclusion and broadening the visibility of their success stories. Through our social music programme, we strive to offer a better life opportunity to marginalized children who are often feeling unwelcome from belonging to the society that they live in. Our main activities include the opportunity for daily practice, teaching sessions for instrument learning, orchestra and choir rehearsals. Every child or youth participating in Sistema Cyprus' program is actively engaged in our programmatic activities for a minimum of 5 hours per week. Most importantly, we organise at least 3 concerts every year where the students of Sistema Cyprus have the opportunity to step onto the stage and present their work to thousands of people in Cyprus and abroad through our audio-visual productions. Finally, we offer professional development opportunities to musicians through the organising of training workshops that take place at least twice per year and focus on how to use music as a tool for social inclusion and social integration.