Art4ROM

Art4ROM is a project from the International Yehudi
Menuhin Foundation designed for children both
Roma and non-Roma, aged between 5 and 10, to
involve them in education via an innovative educative
methodology based on the practice of the arts
in school and non-school environments. The
emphasis is on using art as the universal language, especially music, as this art form
is already at the core of the Roma cultural heritage whose influence on European
classical music, especially during the Romantic period, is well known. The problems
faced by Roma communities range from illiteracy and language barriers to disaffection
and misunderstanding as regards the place of Roma in the educational world,
which Roma children and families view as hostile and pointless. Compounding this
problem is the fact that much needed intercultural dialogue between Roma and the
rest of society has so far been impeded by rampant discrimination and prejudice.

This calls for a more collaborative approach from Roma organisations and international
players to achieve significant advances for Roma education. In the view of the
Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, connecting the respective perspectives on music as
a particularly vibrant and lively cultural art form in Roma communities and of formal
education is important. This is a major instrument for social inclusion and employment
and will set the pace for exchange and dialogue, from which both worlds may
learn, as opposed to a one-way transfer of educational imperatives onto communities
perceived as culturally inferior or disadvantaged.

Coordinator: International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, BE
Website: www.menuhin-foundation.com | Tel.: +32 26733504
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | Contact Person: Ms. Pascale Charhon

Source: Roma and Education: Challenges and Opportunities in the European Union

© European Union, 2012