Seven members of Hear Us Children from Music Crossroads Malawi in Lilongwe leave the country on Thursday for Barcelona in Spain for an education and cultural exchange programme.
Music Crossroads Malawi Director Mathews Mfune said on Wednesday that the group will undertake a number of activities in Spain, including performing at one of the bigger festivals.
“This cultural and education exchange programme was put on hold because of Covid but now we are starting it again and this is the first move,” Mfune said.
Hear Us Children is a group of boys and girls from Music Crossroads that performs traditional dances with an aim of promoting and preserving the country’s culture.
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“We are happy with the strides that we have made so far with Hear Us Children. The group has showcased traditional dances in different places in the country and this exchange programme entails growth and at the same time, selling Malawi to the world through arts and culture,” Mfune said.
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He said the travelling team is made up of Lissa Banda, who is a teacher at Music Crossroads, two girls and two boys who are dancers and two boys who are drummers.
“The team is travelling to Spain courtesy of Petits Musics del Mon, who are our partners. Apart from performing at a festival on April 20 2024, when they have been given five slots, they will conduct workshops in schools as part of promoting Malawi’s culture,” Mfune said.
He said that Hear Us Children will also hold school concerts and other public performances.
“The team will also learn from young people from there,” Mfune said.
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The team is expected back on April 29 2024.
In another development, a partnership programme for Musicians Organisers Volunteer Exchange (Move) project is in progress in Maputo, Mozambique, and has brought together directors from Brazil, Norway, Mozambique and Malawi.
The gathering started last Sunday and will end tomorrow.
“We are meeting to conduct a mid-term review of the project but also meet with the participants. This is more like an annual meeting for us to plan on the future of the project,” Mfune said.
He said the current Move participants are coming back in June this year and that they are in the process of selecting new participants to go to various countries in August.
“We are also meeting to brief each other on the selection process and those picked. We should be announcing names by end of next week,” Mfune said.
The Move exchange programme, which targets young artists between the ages of 18 and 25, involves Malawi, Norway, Mozambique and Brazil.
