… Creative BC has appointed an advisory committee for the newly created BC Music Fund . The $ 15 million grant , which was announced by Premier Christy Clark in February , will be administered by Creative BC to support economic development in the music industry . The Committee is comprised of representatives from various areas of the music industry and will act as an advisory body by providing input to Creative BC regarding the administration of the fund .
For more information , go to www . creativebc . com .
Canadian Producer Launches Music Therapy Program for African Survivors of Sexual Violence
What began as a charity single called “ Song for Africa ” in 2006 has turned into a ground-breaking music therapy program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other war-torn countries . Led by producer Darcy Ataman and partners the Panzi Foundation , the Make Music Matter ( MMM ) program uses music therapy to help heal survivors of sexual violence .
“ We use music as a tool to work across three different psychological health parameters ; PTSD , anxiety , and depression . We ’ re reducing trauma through music and primarily working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with survivors of sexual violence ,” Ataman shares with Canadian Musician .
Ataman and his team , which includes locally-trained music producers and psychologists , work out of Panzi ’ s aftercare facility , Maison Dorcas , where they also built a recording studio . There , they record an album every four months of the 10 best songs , with some mixing help from Metalworks Studios in Ontario . “ Where there is suffering , there is a need to express ourselves . Those songs are written and recorded all locally by these powerful women and they get played on the radio there to roughly five million listeners . It helps to reduce stigma so they can return to their communities and it inspires them to become advocates and to become strong enough to want to be part of society again .”
For more information , go to www . makemusicmatter . org .
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