Conny Groot

Age Included Conny Groot

Be inspired by MusicGenerations. This on-going programme connects young people between 14 and 25 years, and people over 50 through music, including rap, hip hop, poetry and spoken word. The programme carefully combines talent development, reciprocity between ages and cultures, and urgent social issues. Learn about the power of music. Based on a range of art programmes, particularly those of MusicGenerations, Part I of this volume illustrates how these programmes positively contribute to social and politicaI issues around age and intergenerationality, diversity, and freedom. The contributions unravel the programmes' effective elements that can be more widely adapted to cultural and other interventions aimed at bridging among people from a wide range of backgrounds. The power of music (art) for individuals, groups, and society is assessed by borrowing from neurobiology, psychology, and sociology. Envision an inclusive society. Part 11 addresses the question of how the reality, presented by MusicGenerations, functions as an example for a future, inclusive society. The progressively inclusive experiences of 15 years of MusicGenerations are juxtaposed with the increasingly exclusionary discourses on "cultural diversity" in cultural and integration polices and public debates in the Netherlands. The contributions offer ways to enhance both our vocabulary and understanding of diversity in society. Post-multicultural Dutch citizenship is probed with concepts such as mixing, intersectionality, and the integration context and with relational, non-emotional bonds as the basis for social cohesion and citizenship. This multidisciplinary volume is of interest to anyone in the cultural and social sector who studies, works, or makes policies - or contemplates doing so - at the crossroads between generations and diversity. The effective elements in the artistic approach are an inspiration to professionals and students alike. The volume provides unique insight into the Netherlands as a site for inclusion. But its conceptual expansion of integration, inclusion and citizenship extends beyond Dutch borders. This concerns us all.