Olympias Music Foundation wins Integration Award

Congratulations to PhD student Jo-Yee Cheung and all RNCM students and alumni involved in the Olympias Music Foundation (OMF) on being named Grassroots Champion at the 2017 Community Integration Awards.

The Community Integration Awards reward best practice in community integration and cohesion across the UK. Its aim is to influence the immigration debate by highlighting positive examples of people doing vital work in their communities which has allowed migrants, refugees, and host communities to flourish.

Established by Jo-Yee in 2015 to initially raise musical aspirations in Greater Manchester schools, the OMF has developed significantly over the past two years.

With support from students and alumni, the Foundation now runs singing lessons for the Women Voices Choir for refugees, asylum seekers and victims of domestic violence, and an African drumming workshop for victims of human trafficking, as well as continuing its work with young people in schools and in the community who might not otherwise have access to music education.

Jo-Yee said: ‘What we want to do at OMF is to show that music should, and can be, enjoyed by everybody, and has a really transformative effect on the people that it touches.’ Click on the video below to learn more:

RNCM students are able to get involved in projects such as the Olympias Music Foundation via professional placements, which form part of RNCM Engage.

10 November 2017