I have a dream

School class from Älmhult participates when the Convention on the Rights of the Child celebrates its 30th anniversary at ABBA The Museum

The year 5 class from Gemöskolan, Älmhult, has been selected in a national school challenge to present their version of ABBA's I Have A Dream at the "Convention on the Rights of the Child 30 years", an event organized by UNICEF Sweden and ABBA The Museum in Stockholm on 20 November. Participants include the Minister of Gender Equality Åsa Lindhagen, Secretary-General of UNICEF Sweden, Pernilla Baralt, and songwriter and entrepreneur Björn Ulvaeus.

About 300 schools from all over Sweden participate in the school project Make Music Matter! I Have A Dream run by Linnaeus University. The school classes have been challenged to write a new verse for ABBA's song I Have A Dream about dreams they have linked to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As part of the challenge, they have also stated how the school class worked with the Convention on the Rights of the Child during the autumn, as well as provided a motivation as to why they thought that their class should be allowed to participate in the event at ABBA The Museum. 42 different schools took on this challenge and submitted a total of about one hundred grants.

A jury with representatives from ABBA The Museum, UNICEF Sweden, and Linnaeus University has appointed the class that will participate at the anniversary evening. The chosen contribution is written by the year 5 class from Gemöskolan in Älmhult, Sweden.

The jury's motivation reads:“The class has taken on the task in a thorough manner and worked on cross-curricular subjects. While they have learned more about the Convention on the Rights of the Child, they also have developed their knowledge and skills in other subjects and in a creative way created music through the project's digital tools." “The pupils have worked across subjects in this project with everything from science studies, social studies, and Swedish to music and art”, says Madeléine Crona, music teacher at Gemöskolan. “They have gained a lot of insight into what the world can look like for different children and how the UN and UNICEF work on this. The work has also strengthened the pupils understanding of each other's differences”.

“This is not a competition”, emphasises Göran Nikolausson, project manager for Make Music Matter! at Linnaeus University. “All children who get to work with the Convention on the Rights of the Child are winners, as are all schools participating in the project. This is a way of working across subjects with the Convention on the Rights of the Child based on music as a form of expression and means of communication. The project will continue throughout next year with new exciting challenges. All schools that want to participate can participate and it is also completely free of charge.”

The year 5 class at Gemöskolan is now invited to the "Convention on the Rights of the Child 30 years" at ABBA The Museum in Stockholm on 20 November. At the museum, the class will perform its interpretation of I Have A Dream.

The event "Convention on the Rights of the Child 30 years" is led by UNICEF Ambassador Mark Levengood; and the 11-year stellar Oscar Stembridge (Universal) also participates  together with Museum Manager Caroline Fagerlind, ABBA the Museum; Project Manager for Make Music Matter! Göran Nikolausson; vice-chancellor at Linnaeus University Peter Aronsson; the award-winning Dimker Brothers, and others.

The School Project Make Music Matter! I Have A Dream is a unique collaboration between ABBA The Museum and Make Music Matter! – a project run by Linnaeus University in collaboration with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL), the digital music service Soundtrap, and Academy of Music and Business. The project focuses on music, dreams, entrepreneurship, creativity and digitalisation, while having a strong focus on humanity and children's rights. Through the collaboration with ABBA The Museum, an important part of Swedish music history is dealt with within the framework of the project – the pop saga ABBA. The school project started in September 2019 and runs throughout 2020. The schools participating in the project have access to a web portal with lesson materials, teacher guides, films, digital tools, and more. 

More information

Also, check out Mark Levengood's movie about the challenge of writing a new verse for ABBA's song I Have A Dream and the movie about Make Music Matter! I Have A Dream with Björn Ulvaeus, among others, at https://makemusicmatter.se/skolprojektet-make-music-matter-i-have-a-dream-2019-2020/ 

Contact

Göran Nikolausson, project manager Make Music Matter, Linnaeus University, phone +46 72 525 10 08, e-mail goran.nikolausson@lnu.se
Annika Sand, senior press officer, Linnaeus University, phone +46 76 830 01 05, email annika.sand@lnu.se