Tundu Joor

The young singers and musicians were chosen following a regional contest inviting entries from children interested in participating in the project.

The project was divided into four stages:

• Preparation: This consisted of casting events throughout the country in order to identify talented young people who could participate in the project.
• Training: This involved building the capacities of the children around children’s rights, as well as citizenship. Professional musicians and artists accompany the children during all the creative processes.
• Production: Following the training, the musicians produced musical works in accordance with the rights approach, and then went into the studio to record those works.
• Dissemination: This stage involved organising concerts in the eleven regions of Senegal. Once the musical works were recorded on CD’s and DVD’s, they were distributed free of charge to the general public in schools and cultural centres, as well as to radio and television stations and on the web via the Plan website.

The music produced by the musicians explored themes like:

• discrimination;
• right to rest and leisure;
• right to participation;
• right to health;
• right to education;
• right to information;
• right of the child;
• environment;
• economic exploitation;
• freedom of expression;
• ill-treatment; and
• protection of girls.

Click here to listen to the music online.

In February 2008 the children of Tundu Joor went on a trip to Finland, where they met Finnish youths who had experienced their own hardships growing up. The children were able to share stories of their experience and they also performed concerts and recorded songs together.

Children, Rights

Mr Macodé Diop, coordinator of the Tundu Joor Project said the choice to use music was motivated by the fact that music is accessible to everybody throughout the country. "Through music, children who are beginning artists and children who are professional artists are going to disseminate all the messages advocating for the promotion of children’s rights," he said.