Minneapolis, USA (KRG.org) - Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations, said at a US conference last week that the KRG would partner with two leading music education organisations to revitalise learning through music in Kurdistan’s schools and colleges.

Minister Bakir said, “Through these partnerships, we can establish models of progressive education that connect Kurdistan’s musical heritage and culture with the highest standards of formal music training and academic achievement.”

He added, “Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and the KRG are committed to providing the highest quality of education, which is directly related to economic and social development. Only through effective and contemporary education can true and lasting freedom and prosperity be achieved in the Kurdistan Region.”

Minister Bakir spoke about the partnerships when he attended as a guest of honour the Music-in-Education National Consortium Conference in Minneapolis. The Consortium represents a network of US schools, arts organisations and universities that are committed to using music as an agent of school change. The KRG will work with Dr Larry Scripp and Mr Kenneth Freed of the New England Conservatory Centre for Music-in-Education, and the Learning Through Music Consulting Group.

By working with these US music-education partners, the KRG is considering several initiatives. These include forming a joint commitment to revitalize the quality of classical music training in Kurdistan, developing a national youth orchestra system, creating a model primary and secondary school for learning through music, and establishing a research centre for studying the effects of music and music-integrated learning in Kurdistan’s progressive schools.

At the music education conference, Minister Bakir met with many education specialists to outline the KRG’s education policy. He also informed them of the economic and developmental progress that Kurdistan is making thanks to its relative security.

The Kurdish-American violinist, Mr Serwan Sereni, also attended the conference as a guest of honour.