Grooving to Grow: musica e ricerca nei centri per minori stranieri non accompagnati
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The Grooving to Grow project, funded by Innosuisse, aims to improve conditions for those living and working in reception centres for unaccompanied foreign minors through music. In Ticino, these centres are run by the Red Cross and are characterised by high turnover, both among residents and staff. These are complex environments, where limited educational resources and high staff turnover make it difficult to establish stable support structures for the centre’s community.
“The arrival in Ticino of unaccompanied foreign minors is often preceded by a journey lasting several years,” explains Laura Bertini, senior lecturer and researcher at the SUPSI Centre for Documentation and Research on Migration. “They often arrive from East Africa via Libya or from the Middle East via Iran. On these journeys, amongst countless other hardships, they also suffer educational deprivation that can last for years.”
Once they arrive, the young people are confronted with the Swiss education system, which requires specific stages before entering the world of work. “Many want to settle in immediately and start working, to support their families and to pay off the cost of their journey. This creates tension with a system that instead requires a structured educational pathway,” continues Bertini. Educators are called upon to support these young people in their personal and educational development, in a context that is far from straightforward. “The professional environment is difficult not only because of the young people’s past experiences, but also due to working conditions, where investment is lower than in other educational sectors,” emphasises Bertini.
This results in high staff turnover within the educational teams. “In short, change is the norm for these centres.” Under these conditions, the building of meaningful relationships—the foundation of any educational journey—is constantly put to the test. Well-being thus becomes a shared concern: “If the staff are not well, neither can the young people be, and vice versa.”
This gave rise to the idea of proposing and evaluating the impact of music-based interventions on relationships within the centres. “In light of growing evidence, also recognised by the World Health Organisation in a 2019 report, we decided to intervene with musical activities in highly vulnerable settings,” explains Paolo Paolantonio, a lecturer and researcher at the University School of Music of Italian-speaking Switzerland and the project’s musical director. “Music, when delivered in specific ways, can foster forms of ‘mutual recovery’—an exchange of benefits between young people and staff that creates a virtuous circle,” he adds.
The project spans 28 months and comprises three programmes of activities, each lasting ten weeks, starting with a pilot phase launching in April to test the methodology identified with the support of all parties involved. The activities include group music-making, singing, percussion instruments and everyday objects, with no prior skills required. Supporting the educators will be lecturers from the University School of Music and Conservatoire alumni with experience in the field. “On the other hand,” Paolantonio points out, “the use of these methods of making music, with the necessary differences, has been applied in other contexts such as those involving the elderly, Parkinson’s disease, neurodivergence and congenital disabilities.”
The project’s implementation was preceded by significant preparatory work. “We spent seven months on the planning phase together with the management of the Red Cross care homes and the care teams,” explains Bertini. “It was necessary to understand how to integrate an activity of this kind into a constantly changing environment, identifying shared times, spaces and methods.”
This work led to the definition of a model adapted to the centres’ actual conditions, marked by structural changes and staff reductions. From a scientific perspective, Grooving to Grow is based on a participatory action research approach. “The methodology is entirely co-constructed with the partners,” emphasises Paolantonio. “All those involved contribute to the construction of knowledge, in a process that adapts over time.” An approach that is transdisciplinary in nature, bringing academic knowledge and field experience into dialogue. “In this type of context, it is unrealistic to rigidly apply standard research models,” adds Paolantonio. “The approach is ethnographic and develops through phases of co-construction, including with regard to the involvement of participants, step by step.”
In a reality where “change is the norm”, the challenge is to introduce practices that require continuity and regularity. The project aims to test a model capable of supporting relationships and well-being within educational communities, balancing the needs of young people with those of practitioners.
Once they arrive, the young people are confronted with the Swiss education system, which requires specific stages before entering the world of work. “Many want to settle in immediately and start working, to support their families and to pay off the cost of their journey. This creates tension with a system that instead requires a structured educational pathway,” continues Bertini. Educators are called upon to support these young people in their personal and educational development, in a context that is far from straightforward. “The professional environment is difficult not only because of the young people’s past experiences, but also due to working conditions, where investment is lower than in other educational sectors,” emphasises Bertini.
This results in high staff turnover within the educational teams. “In short, change is the norm for these centres.” Under these conditions, the building of meaningful relationships—the foundation of any educational journey—is constantly put to the test. Well-being thus becomes a shared concern: “If the staff are not well, neither can the young people be, and vice versa.”
This gave rise to the idea of proposing and evaluating the impact of music-based interventions on relationships within the centres. “In light of growing evidence, also recognised by the World Health Organisation in a 2019 report, we decided to intervene with musical activities in highly vulnerable settings,” explains Paolo Paolantonio, a lecturer and researcher at the University School of Music of Italian-speaking Switzerland and the project’s musical director. “Music, when delivered in specific ways, can foster forms of ‘mutual recovery’—an exchange of benefits between young people and staff that creates a virtuous circle,” he adds.
The project spans 28 months and comprises three programmes of activities, each lasting ten weeks, starting with a pilot phase launching in April to test the methodology identified with the support of all parties involved. The activities include group music-making, singing, percussion instruments and everyday objects, with no prior skills required. Supporting the educators will be lecturers from the University School of Music and Conservatoire alumni with experience in the field. “On the other hand,” Paolantonio points out, “the use of these methods of making music, with the necessary differences, has been applied in other contexts such as those involving the elderly, Parkinson’s disease, neurodivergence and congenital disabilities.”
The project’s implementation was preceded by significant preparatory work. “We spent seven months on the planning phase together with the management of the Red Cross care homes and the care teams,” explains Bertini. “It was necessary to understand how to integrate an activity of this kind into a constantly changing environment, identifying shared times, spaces and methods.”
This work led to the definition of a model adapted to the centres’ actual conditions, marked by structural changes and staff reductions. From a scientific perspective, Grooving to Grow is based on a participatory action research approach. “The methodology is entirely co-constructed with the partners,” emphasises Paolantonio. “All those involved contribute to the construction of knowledge, in a process that adapts over time.” An approach that is transdisciplinary in nature, bringing academic knowledge and field experience into dialogue. “In this type of context, it is unrealistic to rigidly apply standard research models,” adds Paolantonio. “The approach is ethnographic and develops through phases of co-construction, including with regard to the involvement of participants, step by step.”
In a reality where “change is the norm”, the challenge is to introduce practices that require continuity and regularity. The project aims to test a model capable of supporting relationships and well-being within educational communities, balancing the needs of young people with those of practitioners.