Abstract
The chapter examines an ethnographic study of children in South Tyrol, Italy, showing how singing fosters a sense of belonging in multicultural communities. It is based on ethnographic research in a primary school in Franzensfeste, South Tyrol, Italy, where the entire student body has a migrant background.
The ethnographic work involves a workshop facilitator and a research assistant as a participant observer. The activities aim to develop children’s musical, linguistic, social, and emotional skills. They are designed to make each child feel welcome and to encourage interaction and cooperation. This aligns with the community music approach (Higgins 2012) and the belief that education can transform a child’s life, especially in a time of increasing social conflict and growing inequalities (Sachs 2022). The Making Music Together project aims to involve children of migrant backgrounds to create an inclusive network of social relationships, ensuring equal opportunities for all through musical practice and language support, reducing inequalities and discriminatory practices.
The development of inclusive education projects in the context of South Tyrol is associated with some challenges that add to the problems of coexistence between migrants and their host communities. The specificity of the Franzensfeste school context may prompt reflection on segregation in education by suggesting that, in this context, children who have an ethnically heterogeneous experience are those who may enjoy a cultural advantage in adapting to a changing world and its uncertainties (Rix 2024) thanks to participation in a comprehensive and complex range of social and linguistic interactions with peers, families, and educators. This presentation reports the preliminary findings of the research.