Orchestra of Changemakers Meet-Up 2024

We held our 7th annual Orchestra of Changemakers Meet-Up in Amsterdam on April 14. The event proved to be both moving and energising so we are pleased to share this update with you.

We have held an annual Meet-Up for our donors, partners, board, trainers and the rest of our team since our founding. Every year it further highlights that - whether you are a donor, trainer, board member or coordinator - together we make a difference.

The day was opened by our director Lucas Dols, together with tap dancer and artist Marije Nie who introduced everyone to Splendor, the meeting's inspiring location in Amsterdam. The Sounds of Change trainers then performed an improvisation with Marije along the theme of traveling through different worlds.

Lucas updated everyone on our current work, with a map illustrating the various countries in which we have been active over the past seven years and you can click here to view the map on our updated website.

Our first online guest was Ibrahim Issa, the director of the Hope Flowers School. We trained the school's teachers and therapists between 2017 and 2019 (see photo) and due to the terrible violence in Gaza and the West Bank, Hope Flowers are now in need of trauma knowledge and support. Therefore since December, we have renewed our partnership with Ibrahim's school.

Ibrahim spoke to us via ZOOM and answered questions from the audience. We have been truly impressed by the dedication and strength with which Ibrahim and his team continue their complex but important work. We will continue to support them by providing training and support to their team of teachers and therapists for as long as remains necessary.

Ibrahim's moving and informative story touched the audience so this was the perfect moment to practise what we preach and release some of our stress and emotions using music. Our trainers guided the Orchestra of Changemakers through playful movements and sounds, to playing an entire composition with Boomwhackers.

After this boost of energy, connection, and creativity, it was time for our next guest, Kateryna Kudasheva, who travelled from the Ukraine to Amsterdam especially for the Meet-Up. We know Kateryna from the webinars we’ve been providing for psychologists in Ukraine since 2022, as well as her participation in our Sounds of Change Academy last year in the Netherlands.

Kateryna gave an impressive presentation about her trauma-sensitive work with Sol Diez, using the power of music to support children and adults in the Uzhhorod region. 

We are incredibly grateful to Kateryna for sharing her inspiring story with us and if the situation allows, Sounds of Change will train Kateryna's team and a group of caregivers on-site later this year. We encourage you to visit her Facebook page if you would like to know more. 

‘Freedom for a few, maybe if they look like you’

We heard this quote in 2021 on Amsterdam’s DAM square during a demonstration against the horrors in Afghanistan. It was part of the song ‘Forget to Remember’ by Shishani. Since that day she had been on our wish-list and this year we finally managed to secure her presence as she shared her musical power with us. She started with an exercise she had experienced earlier in the Meet-Up, stating "I need this too; to unwind before I start and to connect with you before I sing".

Shishani then sang a beautiful traditional song from Namibia, where she researches pre-colonial music culture, before poignantly finishing with ‘Forget to Remember’ accompanied by the Sounds of Change trainers.

Thank you to everyone who attended, it was heartwarming to spend such a beautiful afternoon together. 

If you would like to become a member of the Orchestra of Changemakers, you can do so by visiting our website and becoming a monthly donor. You will then automatically be invited to this special annual event, featuring stories, updates and of course, music, made for and with you.

Sharing our story with others who may be interested also helps us enormously.

Thank you for reading to the end of our 'Stories of Change' newsletter.
With love, peace and warmth, 
Lucas, Sander, Rian, Hashem, Marijn, Han, Amjad
and the rest of the Sounds of Change team

photography: Deirdre Daly - www.deirdredaly.com