Switzerland - This Saturday (25/03) the United Nations Orchestra will play a concert at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, Switzerland. All proceeds from ticket sales will be used to facilitate the psychosocial activities carried out by IOM.

Psychosocial support, such as music therapy, will be provided to migrants affected by the Mediterranean migration crisis – particularly women and children.

The United Nations Orchestra was established with the goal of using symphonic music to support humanitarian efforts, by organizing cultural events to raise funds for humanitarian organizations such as IOM. 

With 70 musicians hailing from 20 different countries, the UN Orchestra is emblematic of the diversity of global migration as well as the universality of music. This benefit concert will contribute to IOM’s aim to promote, protect and support the wellbeing of crisis-affected migrant sending and hosting populations.

Every day, hundreds of people fleeing war and instability in their home countries attempt the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea. The shores of Greece have thus become a landing point for migrants in Europe.

“We have several unbroken conflicts from West Africa to Asia and none of them show any signs of resolution anytime soon,” said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing. “The needs of the people are going to be enormous and we have to assist them.”

People have long moved in search of safety and better opportunities for their families. Today, however, conflict, economic instability and climate change fallout are driving millions of men, women and children out of their countries and communities under duress.

Over the past decade, the number of refugees, irregular migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Greece by boat has increased significantly, but a big shift in crossings from the sea to the land border has been observed since 2010 owing to large influxes of migrants from Asia and Africa, who view Greece as a gateway to the European Union.

The stressors connected with the reasons for leaving, the dangerous and undignified conditions of travel, faulty reception systems in transit and destination countries, and the stigma migrants are subject to all combine to threaten the emotional wellbeing of migrants.

“We aim to promote, protect and support the wellbeing of crisis affected populations,” continued Ambassador Swing. “The funds raised from this concert will help develop a music therapy pilot project for migrants in Greece.”

Through consultations with music therapy experts, IOM’s music therapy program hopes to assist migrants by reducing stress and providing a healthy outlet for their emotions. The project will be tested in Greece, and then further improved and developed for migrants in other European countries.

Tickets are available online at http://bit.ly/2lqXRQo for 20 - 80 CHF.

For further information, please contact Florence Kim at IOM HQ, Tel: +41791030342, Email: fkim@iom.int