HÀ NỘI -- The 'Sounds of Brotherhood' project of the World Youth Orchestra Foundation, which took place this year in Việt Nam thanks to the support of the CDP Foundation, LCA Studio Legale and Temix, is about to end.

The initiative also counted on the collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Hà Nội, with the Consulate General of Italy in Hồ Chí Minh City and on the work of the project partners Vicas (Vietnamese Institute for Culture and Arts) and SKDA (Hà Nội Academy of Theatre and Cinema).

Music, theatre, and art as instruments of dialogue and peace between peoples were at the centre of the project, which succeeded in developing strong artistic-cultural cooperations between Italy and Việt Nam, contributing to the training of many young Vietnamese artists, promoting the production of local artists and at the same time, offering concrete support to orphaned and abandoned children in Việt Nam.

The WYO4CHILDREN project benefits children in need. Photos Courtesy of the embassy

The Brotherhood project was the latest of the numerous successful initiatives developed since 2001 by the World Youth Orchestra Foundation.

“The WYO goes to Việt Nam to bring its musical message once again through its mosaic of musicians from all over the world, who play with passion and love to underline three fundamental words in the lives of all of us: friendship, brotherhood, peace,” said Adolfo Vannucci, President of the World Youth Orchestra Foundation.

The first final event of 'Sounds of Brotherhood' will be on August 29 at Hanoi University, with a reading of four cantos of the Divine Comedy by Valeria Almerighi, Federico Brugnone and Carolina Leporatti, dedicated to the students of the Department of Italian Studies of the university.

On the afternoon of August 31, in Hồ Chí Minh City, the final event of the WYO4CHILDREN project - aimed at children who are orphaned, abandoned or in difficult family situations, between the ages of five and seventeen - will take place at the Home of Mother's Love in Bình Dương.

The children will tackle a repertoire of Vietnamese and Italian music. The programme includes a painting show by the performer Francesca Chialà, who, thanks to the children's contribution, will paint a 20-metre-long canvas with the colours of the Italian and Vietnamese flags set to the rhythm of music.

Youngsters join in a Sound Dialogues workshop.

Then back in Hà Nội on September 5, at the Vicas Arts Studio, there will be an awards ceremony of the 'Call for Projects' dedicated to Vietnamese artists for the categories of visual arts, music and theatre, in the presence of the Italian Ambassador to Việt Nam, Marco della Seta.

Finally, in a show that closes the project, there will be a 'Sound Dialogues' theatre workshop scheduled for September 7 at the Theatre of the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema, in the presence of the Italian embassy, ​​the diplomatic corps and the university students and professors.

“The CDP Foundation has always supported youth talent and promoted art and culture, characteristics that are embodied by the ‘Sounds of Brotherhood’ project, which we have decided to support and through which we have extended our commitment at an international level,” said Francesca Sofia, General Director of the CDP Foundation. “We are convinced that the initiative will continue to encourage cooperation between the two countries, thanks to the power of cultural diplomacy, a fundamental tool for promoting inclusive development and social integration.”

Ambassador Marco della Seta said: "This initiative has already proven capable of creating fruitful synergies and establishing links between Italian institutional, cultural and academic realities and Vietnamese ones. I am sure that the new events planned will prove equally effective in further consolidating the already excellent cultural relations between our two countries.”

The 'Sounds of Brotherhood' project ran from January this year.

After 23 years of activity, WYO is represented in 75 countries, has 300 international partner universities, 3,500 talents involved and has held 350 events, with over ten million people attending its concerts around the world.

It has been recognised by numerous institutional bodies, including the UN, UNICEF, the European Commission and the President of the Italian Republic.

The project, conceived by the WYO Artistic Director and founder Damiano Giuranna, intends to demonstrate that music should not be limited to being a cultural necessity of an elite, but can represent a powerful tool for communicating values ​​and ideas, a tool of cultural diplomacy capable of stimulating best practices in the artistic, social and political fields. VNS