Innovation: Canto Elementar (Elementary Corner)

Germany

AAI Domains:

• Independent, healthy and secure living (lifelong learning, educational attainment)

• Participation in society (voluntary activities, social connectedness)

There is a developing evidence base for the health benefits of singing for people of all ages as it is increasingly recognised that group singing in a choir can have positive effects on health and well-being. In an ageing society, there is great potential for innovative inter-generational initiatives that enable older people to share their love of music with young children for the mutual benefit of both groups. This form of social innovation is highly promising and is certainly worthy of further development and research to assess the potential impact on participants.

The International Network for the Promotion of the Everyday Culture of Singing (The Singing of the World) was founded in 1999 with the distinguished violinist Lord Yehudi Menuhin as spiritual patron and a commitment to spreading the joy of music and singing to people all around the world. In Germany, the association was founded by academic musicians and has more than 150 associate members including musicians, artists, doctors, psychologists, musical therapists and cultural managers.

The association supports the development of community choirs and has developed several programmes to promote singing for people in hospital and for young children through Canto Elementar. The programme was developed in the mid-2000s by Dr Karl Adamek, a music psychologist, and promoted the practice of established community choirs of older people visiting kindergartens on a regular to teach young children to sing.

Adamek’s empirical research had indicated that singing had life-enhancing potential and was an important part of healthy development for young children. Among young children group singing promotes cognitive development, increases school readiness, encourages learning and creativity, enhances social skills and has physical and social health benefits. There are similar benefits for older people who are part of a choir along with the greater social connections and interactions that it creates for participants.

Canto Elementar runs in two phases with the first lasting for up to two years as a volunteer coach accompanies the choir of older singers and supports them and the kindergarten staff through the process of teaching the young children to sing together with older choir. Usually the first phase is shorter and the choir of young children and older people can share the joys of singing together on a weekly basis.

There are now over 170 kindergartens across Germany participating in Canto Elementar with more than 1,500 older people acting as singing sponsors as part of their choir and over 15,000 young children participating in the singing sessions.

In 2011, Canto Elementar benefited from a full time project manager with administrative support to provide leadership to the project and spread the benefits of the programme to a wider audience. The project won the prestigious National Prize for social projects from the Office of the Chancellor in 2012 with the €50,000 prize used to expand the scale of the programme.

In terms of active ageing, Canto Elementar encourages voluntary activities among older choir members, promotes lifelong learning among this group and build social connections across the generations. In relation to young children, by increasing their social development and school readiness it is likely that Canto Elementar will make a modest contribution to their future educational attainment.

Websites

Canto Elementar

Il Canto del Mondo

Starsocial