Peace Tracks, the global virtual music class dissolving borders

After his semester-long experience, he wants to utilise his position as vice president of the student council to create a band at his school so more of his peers can share in the experience. 

Described as a "virtual exchange programme for high school students from Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, and the United States," Peace Tracks works as a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning. 

Since 2021, Peace Tracks has grown to connect students from across the US and globally. It included students from four schools in Jordan during the most recent session, plus kids in Morocco, Palestine, Boston, and Chicago. 

Students get together on Microsoft Teams to pitch ideas and discuss music. "We just tell them to come as they are,"Sandra Rizkallah , the initiative’s founder, told FairPlanet. "We're not looking for the best songwriters and the best musicians. We just want people to come with an open heart." 

The programme starts with a group discussion. There are no restrictions on topics, and kids are free to discuss mountainous subjects like war, gender equality, climate change, bullying, and friendships. With the help of local teachers, students sift through ideas and create working documents for lyrics.

Rizkallah said that Peace Tracks does not censor its students' words, even if the lyrics get charged. And she said they never received pushback from their primary sponsor, the Stevens Initiative - a U.S. State Department-sponsored fund whose mission statement is to help children connect globally with technology. "We've reached out to our funder and their response was like, ‘we don't censor, we don't want you to censor,’ " said Rizkallah. 

The two organisations' partnership began in October, 2023 and one of the first initiatives included working with Palestinian students. "It was really beautiful to see how music was a way for the kids in Ramallah to process difficult emotions, to feel heard," said Rizkallah. "I think that they felt like everyone hated them in the world." 

Eventually, the programme splits the class into smaller teams, allowing students to work on the songs they feel a deeper connection to. Here, teachers instruct students to create loops and beats on a software called Soundtrap, so everyone can participate, regardless of their musical knowledge. Each student can work independently on their section and upload it to complete the song. 

Led by the philosophy that openness and connection enhance creativity, the programme has remained largely the same over the past four years. But things are changing. 

Upcoming sessions are expanding to include students from refugee populations. Peace Tracks will provide them with a temporary WiFi setup to accommodate them, which it currently does for schools without access.  

Peace Tracks has also lost Stevens Initiative funding, one of its main backers, when its grant was not renewed. Rizkallah described the parting, after two-and-a-half years, as amicable, a result of the Institute shifting its funding focus to larger organisations, rather than small operations like Peace Tracks. Other backers have included the Qatar Foundation, which provided funding for three months 2022, and private donors. Neither organisation responded to requests for comment and Peace Tracks is currently looking for a new funding source. 

Measuring Impact: Redefining Peace 

Measuring the impact of a programme like Peace Tracks can be challenging, especially because it's so new. Rizkallah lacks statistics that demonstrate programme success, and does not currently employ music therapists. Rizkallah said she first wants to expand the programme to include conflict resolution specialists, then explore hiring dedicated music therapy professionals. 

The best way to measure success has been through exit interviews and surveys, which the Stevens Initiative required, and by having former students return to the programme as mentors. Faris described the experience as transformative. Even though he felt other students from his school did not participate as much in the programme as he did, he relished the chance to work with kids in other countries, many of whom he keeps in touch with on social media. 

"They were lovely,” said Faris. "No one was mean to me. We [had] the same purpose of creating the music." He said the programme had helped him embrace working as part of a team, whereas before he had preferred to work as an individual. 

Though an emerging field, there is evidence to show the efficacy, or potential use, of music as a peacebuilding tool. The organisation Musicians Without Boarders has brought music and instruments to refugee camps for 25 years. Yet some argue the method needs to be explored further. According to a paper by Gillian Howell of the University of Melbourne, "Only a handful of reviewed publications analysed the quality of the peace fostered through music; those that did underscored the necessity of a critical lens," since music-based peacebuilding can be superficial or easily leveraged "for the politics of spectacle and public narrative." 

Regardless of the broader, opaque impact, Rizkallah has experienced a change in herself. She said that specifically working with Palestinian students, who are dealing with upheaval and a seemingly endless war, has made her view the word 'peace' as not just an end to fighting between nations. 

"We have this idea of like, 'oh, well, you guys are just going to be friends,' and everyone's like, 'that's not what happens,' " she said. Instead, Rizkallah has grown to understand peace as a more complex concept that must address the impact of oppression on the individual. "My goal is to create an environment where participants feel safe, feel heard," she said. "I think if you show compassion to somebody, then they are able to access compassion in themselves." 

Though Rizkallah is clear about the differences in her experience from the youths she works with, the programme is personal. Raised by a Holocaust survivor with a "very humanitarian perspective" on life, she has her own uniquely complex relationship with the work she's doing in the Middle East, and her background, she observed, informs the programme. 

"As someone with a legacy of trauma related to war and displacement, I strive through my work in peace education to share a narrative of peace, compassion, unity and seeing the humanity in others," she said of the organisation's mission. 

Her family’s story continues to motivate Rizkallah as she tries to foster a sense of safety for the kids to express feelings and emotions that may not have another outlet. "Every time I think you work with a child and you can inspire compassion in them, and also have them feel heard," she continued. "Then that's like one tiny, tiny step towards peace. They might just see the world a little different[ly] and be open." 

The effectiveness of Peace Tracks may never be fully measured, but for Rizkallah, it has been a personal triumph.  

Image by Alexander Bennington.