About the Project
This is an initiative between Qisetna and Mirzo Music Foundation to support the young people based in the city of Raqqa, by promoting social and cultural integration through music and art.
The project was initiated by Juan delGado, a socially engaged artist along with a group of young people from the city of Raqqa in NorthEastern Syria. Through collaboration they trace the musical and intangible heritage of this city by the Euphrates.
The project aims to create long term intergenerational relationships, with young people becoming actively engaged in the recording of the stories from the elders. Digital technology provides an opportunity for this community to change the perception of how others see them.
Using digital technology and inclusive methodology they establish an ongoing trustful relationships with local musicians and singers from the old generation. The local team interviewed and recorded their music and stories, what inspired them, how they connect their music with the oral heritage of their community.
As part of the project, the team worked in partnership with the ACTION FOR PEACE organisation, which specialises in preserving Syrian musical heritage and building the capacities of young people to contribute to preserving the region’s rich heritage.
The programme offered theoretical and practical methods of documentation, its importance in research, allowing the participants to exchange knowledge and actively engage. There was a focus on different methods of documentation and the use of the mobile phone camera, the relationship of photography and videography to documentation, and methods of recording audio via a mobile phone.
Why Oral Histories?
Oral histories are recordings of individuals telling stories about their lives and about events they have witnessed and experienced. They can be told as monologue narratives, songs or through interviews. Such first-hand accounts give people the opportunity to tell their own history. Being able to share their individual stories gives storytellers a sense of ownership and control and can be very empowering. It also promotes self-reflection and critical thinking.
Documentation training using digital materials is part of the Return to Tenderness project, which is supported by our story organization in partnership with the ACTION FOR PEACE organization, which specializes in musical tuning, preserving the Syrian musical heritage and building the capacities of young people to contribute to preserving the immaterial heritage.
Qisetna (Talking Syria) began in 2013, aiming to be a voice for Syrians displaced around the world, including in the UK. The project encourages Syrians of all denominations and perspectives to write stories containing memories or special moments that enable them to reconnect with their human side and their heritage. The focus is storytelling, art and culture as the building blocks for longer-term community resilience. Qisetna (Talking Syria) also runs an informative blog which is also non-political and non-religious.
