Baltrum 2014 – Music and Media for an Open Europe ⋆ ROOTS & ROUTES

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Baltrum 2014 – Music and Media for an Open Europe

Baltrum ’14 – Music and Media for an Open Europe (#MaMOE14)

For the very first project of our association, 48 people from 8 countries travelled to the North Sea island of Baltrum: In the cold November wind, films, songs and performances for an open Europe were created.

Photo © Yomi Hitijahubessy

The borders, limits, openness of Europe recently have shifted towards the focus of public discourse: From debates about the EU’s attitude towards refugees, the roles and policies of Frontex and national border patrols via the Ukraine crisis to populist propaganda against migration within the EU, the question of openness vs. closure has become a vital issue all over Europe. What happens at the borders of the EU affects also the urban centers: Europe’s big cities become more and more culturally diverse, the world is reflected in the metropols; the debate about the borders and extension of the EU is also a debate about our future society.

We believe that openness, diversity and inclusiveness are key factors for a cohesive, peaceful and constructive future Europe. In the project MaMOE14 – Music and Media for an Open Europe, we invited diverse groups of young people from greater Cologne and from 7 other European cities, sent by our partner organisations:

- Synergy of Music Theatre (SMouTh) from Larisa/Greece,
- Centro di Creazione e Cultura (CCC) from Florence/Italy,
- Associació Rutes i Origens (RiO) from Barcelona/Spain,
- Rock in Faches (RiF) from Lille/France,
- Stichting ROOTS & ROUTES (StRR) from Rotterdam/The Netherlands,
- Brouhaha International from Liverpool/UK and
- Club for Youth Empowerment 018 (CYE018 / KOM018) from Nis/Serbia.

The project had 48 participants. They jointly reflected about and developed visions for an open Europe. The group’s reflections and visions were expressed and became manifest in music and media productions: Songs, music videos and short films created by transnationally mixed groups with support from professional music and media coaches with high levels of topical, intercultural and artistical competencies.

After starting together in Cologne with a Masterclass by Brazilian musician Ed Motta at Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld, the main part of the project happened on the North Sea island Baltrum. The results of the exchange were presented to the public at Motoki Kollektiv Cologne on November 20th, 2014.