Art For a Better World

Salaam dear donors & beneficiaries wherever you are...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVxLynDF9ep/?taken-by=aidanadeem

"Peace begins with a smile," a quote said by Mama Teresa...I say Smile is the power of living!
This is simply the essence of our campaign. it is about drawing a smile on the faces of the Syrian refugees' children in Turkey through organizing street music & art workshops.
The Syrian refugee crisis has impacted the lives of countless children and families. According to the humanitarian aid organization World Vision ( https://www.worldvision.org/), the displacement of Syrians is the largest refugee crisis of our time, displacing millions of people since civil war broke out in 2011. Many of these displaced people are children. They are the innocent victims of war and destruction and have been deprived of basic human rights. They are unable to go to school, live below the poverty line and suffer from hunger. The harsh conditions of life turn these small spirits into beggars & panhandlers 


  

And who am I?!
I am a simple modest female artist, whos heard beats sincerely for a better world.
My name is Aida Nadeem. I am an Iraqi-Danish contemporary multi-artist:  musician, Vocalist, performer, and composer. I work on an international basis, mainly Europe and the Middle East

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awQoTyJ4l3s

I hold a music diploma from The Danish Royal music conservatory. I am known for merging different music styles in one homogeneous tune. The longings I have for my music heritage from Baghdad blended with Nordic Jazz Tunes & industrial electronica loops....all these forms my human identity  Music is my lifestyle & this human identity of mine, allows me to plant the seeds of art in any corner of the globe, Art is the shelter that guards me.
So far I have been living in different countries. I consider myself, to the bone a citizen of the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd7SNIqmSlM

I played & performed in most well know venues & festivals around Europe, among which: Roskilde, Glastonbury, Womad & a bunch of others. Besides,  I have different international nominations for my music productions:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/a4wm2007/2007_aida_nadeem.shtml 

In addition to being a recognized artist in Scandinavia, I myself am an Iraqi refugee. I fled to Denmark in the 1990s due to dictatorship and war in my country. The experience was devastating, but I found healing in music and art. Now I want to share this healing and hope with the next generation of young refugees. 
For the last four years, I have been commuting between Sweden and Turkey, where I was working for the national Turkish TV TRT meanwhile implementing cultural and performing arts projects in Sweden. Over the years traveling to Turkey, I couldn’t help but notice the dire situation of the refugee children. Moved to action, I used my own means to visit the areas where these children live, once a month, where I first invite them for lunch and chat with them, then hold short street workshops, where we sing, play & dance.
What mostly drove my attention, is the children´s strong will for life. They are eager to learn, they are ready to embrace new values, despite their traumatized life. 
Holding the workshops in streets created an interactivity with the local shops & neighborhood. It brought with it empathy for these children, no need to mention the festive atmosphere for all partners.
These visits have been a huge success. Each time I visit, the amount of children grows. Lately, the Turkish national TV TRT screened these workshops, to be included in a documentary about my art.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnZh-FGjahD/

Now, I want to expand this project and help more Syrian refugee children in Turkey smile again and embrace hope.


My idea is to hold 6 months art and music street workshops and events on weekly basis, for these children throughout Turkey, particularly in Istanbul and Izmir. Through these workshops, taught by myself and other local musicians, dancers, visual artists, and storytellers, we will do the following:

-play music, present musical instruments to the children, and allow them to touch and try playing the instruments. with this, we will expand their musical horizons
-work with the children to strengthen their gross motor skills by teaching them simple dance steps and moves in time with the music;
-read books and tell inspiring stories, that nourish their positive imagination
-teach them how to draw and paint, as well as good behavior and etiquette;
-provide them with healthy lunches, personal care items, and school supplies.

Our goal in this particular campaign is to run 6 months/twice a week of pilot workshops of 60 min each, each workshop, that can hopefully, later on, continue to a long-term project.

Therefore we would like for now to raise 30,000$.  Every dollar raised will go toward creating an experience the children won’t forget. Donations of all sizes are welcomed and appreciated.


https://www.instagram.com/p/BVsZ8LpljJU/?taken-by=aidanadeem


Timetable for the workshops:

We are planning to initiate in November 2019 until May 2020

Mainly the donation will cover the following:

-Fees of the musicians, dancers, visual artists and storytellers
-My fees for coordinating, arranging the work-shops & performing for the children.
-Our domestic travel, diet & stay expenses, as we will be holding the workshops in different parts of Turkey, where the refugees are settled.
-Fees for social media, video-documentation & PR purposes.
-My stay & travel expenses from Sweden to Turkey & vise vers
-Buying food, school supplies & other above-mentioned accessories for the children.

Every child should have the opportunity to hope for a decent life. It is my deepest desire to ease the heavy burden these children are bearing.  Each of these small spirits bears a woeful story, the least I can do, is to refine these stories & make them look a bit brighter. We can’t change their lives radically, but at least we can offer them an hour of relief, motivation, and build their self-esteem. Join us in providing a glimmer of hope to Syrian refugee children through music, art, and friendship.

Salaam

www.aidanadeem.global
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