HOW IT ALL STARTED
„I found it moving to be in BidiBidi for the first time and to get to know the people. I will never forget the attention our classical string instruments aroused and how many talented musicians we met in that week. Providing sustainable support became our goal.”
— Geoffroy Schied, MUSIC CONNECTS
FROM DISCOVERY TO DELIVERY
INSPIRATION
More than 1,5 million displaced people, mainly from South Sudan, are living in large settlements in Uganda. BidiBidi, one of the world’s largest settlements, is located in the North-East of the country, near South Sudan. It has a population of over 210.000.
In December 2019, while visiting the region, we witnessed enormous commitment and joy amongst mainly young people while making music, and got a deeper understanding of what an important role music and traditions play for displaced communities.
Making music together, coupled with emphatic requests for further support of musical projects was particularly touching and inspired us to help.
DEVELOPMENT
With the financial support of Germany´s Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), we designed, developed and manufactured a prototype of a mobile, multimedia music laboratory: a fully equipped truck, our MUSIC LAB on wheels.
In July 2021, our Munich partner Gasteig, Europe´s biggest cultural centre, proudly presented the LAB - “a mini Gasteig” - to the public and press with a series of events.
DHL shipped and delivered the LAB to Uganda over August and September 2021.
1,5 M REFUGEES
Uganda currently hosts more than 1,5 million refugees (UNHCR) and continues to receive simultaneous arrivals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and Somalia. The number of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda is almost nine hundred thousand, representing 57% of the total refugee population.
56% of the displaced are children and adolescents under 18 years old.
(source: UNHCR).
CONTACT
Together we can achieve more – we are looking forward to hearing from you!