Songs of Endurance and Inclusion

Songs of Endurance and Inclusion sought to explore how Eurovision can be used to celebrate the contribution of refugees and migrants and bring diverse communities together through local events. In the run up to the Eurovision final on 13 May, The Young Foundation ran a series of ‘open house’ events for people in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to connect. This was to then culminate in a shared music event at East London’s famous Toynbee Hall, the Grade II listed building and charity which works with local communities to tackle unfairness and ensure everyone has an equal chance to thrive.

Songs of Endurance and Inclusion was a test-and-learn project, which sought to answer the following questions:

• Is song and music-making a mechanism to bring together the community, and can any social connections / benefits of this be retained?
• Can Eurovision (as a national event) be utilised as a reason to host related local community events that bring together a diverse community?
• Can we do this in a way that is community-led and that could be easily replicated by others?

Siân Whyte, Head of Strategic Design and Insight, at The Young Foundation reflects on the project and insights gained from the work in a Spirit blog post.