Sing Up Foundation appoints research team

Music charity, Sing Up Foundation has today announced the appointment of a research team from University of Limerick's Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. The team will conduct research on the impact that singing has on the mental health and wellbeing of refugee children.

The foundation took on the legacy of the British Council’s World Voice Programme last year, and this latest step is inspired by previous World Voice projects with refugees in Greece and Palestine. The research team is supported by a British Council grant designed to continue the legacy of World Voice.

Celi Barberia, head of Sing Up Foundation said, ‘We are passionate about the benefits of singing on health and wellbeing and hope that through this research review we can help support those working with young refugees and unaccompanied minors to use the most effective evidence-based singing strategies to help improve outcomes.’

The team, composed of Dr Hala Jaber, Dr Fran Garry and Professor Helen Phelan will conduct a literature review and evaluation of the benefits of singing on the mental health of young refugees and unaccompanied minors, then develop recommendations and resources on how projects of this nature should be conducted in future.

Refugees often experience added vulnerability to mental illness due to a mix of social, biological and psychological factors. The team, all of whom have experience in music education and facilitation, aims to build on anecdotal evidence which suggests that prioritising singing can help.

Dr Jaber, Dr Garry and Professor Phelan said: ‘Much of our work focuses on the role of music in supporting the inclusion, health and wellbeing of refugees, particularly in post- conflict contexts. We believe that the best learning comes from combining practice with research and are looking forward to uncovering and sharing, through this project, the knowledge and experiences of excellent music practices when working with refugees and unaccompanied minors.’