Bangkok – Music as a language of hope, brotherhood, and comfort: this is the goal of the WYO4Children project, launched by the World Youth Orchestra Foundation, led by Maestro Damiano Giuranna. After the success of recent years in Vietnam and Morocco, the initiative has now reached the Wangnoi Phanomyong Wittaya School in Bangkok, Thailand, and returned to the Amis des orphelins in Fez, Morocco, with the support of the CDP Foundation.
The aim is to offer 70 vulnerable young people, aged between 7 and 18, an opportunity for personal and social growth through music. With weekly sessions held throughout the year, the participants will learn the basics of music, play classical and traditional instruments, form a choir, and improve their interpersonal skills. The program also includes recitals and small concerts, culminating in a final event that will allow the children to share their experience and strengthen their ties to the community.
WYO4Children is part of the broader “Sounds of Brotherhood” project, which will take place in 2025 in both Thailand and Morocco. The initiative promotes artistic and cultural cooperation, continuous training, and the circulation of talents, with support from the Italian Embassy and Italian Cultural Institute in Bangkok and Rabat.
In Thailand, the project is hosted at Wangnoi Phanomyong Witthaya School, which has long been supported by the Chaipattana Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1988 by King Bhumibol. It involves more than 35 students aged 7 to 11, with workshops in violin, piano, and singing led by Professor Sira Tabin and three professional musicians.
In Morocco, the Childhood Protection Center for Girls in Fez—supported by the non-profit Friends of Fez Orphans (FOFO)—works to improve the lives of girls from families facing extreme hardship, including those with parents who have disabilities or who are victims of domestic violence. Here, over 35 girls aged 9 to 17, under the coordination of Zakia Elyoubi and two professional musicians, learn to play both traditional instruments like the oud and darbouka, and classical guitar, as well as taking part in singing workshops. (9colonne)