Project collaborations

1001 valises and Balkan Trafik Festival is part of the ROJAZE project in collaboration with l’Air de Balkans (FR) and Nisville Foundation (Serbia). This 24-month-project is funded by the Creative Europe program.

The objective of the project is to facilitate creativity and open artistic exchange of young Roma jazz musicians by connecting them with music youth of different cultural, social, economic and geographic origins, as to develop different levels of intercultural dialogue, cross-cultural cooperation and cross-border movement, connecting France, Belgium and Serbia.

“War divides, Music Connects!” All in all, 500 young people will be involved during the four years of the project, six partner countries that will offer Balkan Trafik the opportunity to showcase the work of some of the music bands that came out of the working sessions.

Initiated by the Dutch NGO Musicians Without Borders, the project first concerned the Mitrovica Rock School, located in Kosovo in a city well-known for its division between pro-Serb and pro-Albanian neighborhoods. This school allows young people to learn rock music in both branches of the school and then meet for joint performances. Two years ago, the Roma Rock School based in Skopje in Macedonia joined the project, with its young students trained in music and more particularly in the rock genre. Fontys Rockacademie from the Netherlands, Clash Exchange and Learning from Germany and SOAS University from the UK also joined the project to share their know-how and expertise.

Today, this project is divided between residencies, performances and exchanges, which will become, as one of the objectives, examples and inspirations in terms of peace-building and discovery of the “Other”.

During the next three editions of the festival, we will welcome Music Connects and its young artists on the Balkan Trafik stage.