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Conference on
Music Education in Palestine:
Held in Ramallah in August 1999, the Conference on Music Education in
Palestine brought together professional musicians, government officials,
NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations), and music teachers and instructors
to discuss music education efforts in Palestine.
They discussed the music education needs of a community in which educational
institutions have been subjected to long periods of closure and have been
denied a fair chance at development. Under Israeli civil administration,
schools in Palestine were not invested in and teachers were denied exposure
to newer teaching methodologies. As a result, most teachers have been
applying the same educational techniques for decades. The traditional rigid
concepts of teaching still prevail in most Palestinian schools.
Participants at the conference identified these old teaching methodologies
in terms of the style and approach to music education as one of the major
obstacles to reinvigorating the music environment in Palestine. Sabreen
participated in the conference, the discussions in which resulted in the
proposals of some creative ideas for reinvigorating music education efforts
in Palestine, one of which was a Summer Music Camp. |