Musical Activities in the Acculturation Processes
of Young People with Migration Experiences

Dr. Katarzyna Grebosz-Haring, Department of Musicology and Dance Studies, Interuniversity Organisation Science and Art, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Mozarteum University, Austria 

The long term forcibly displaced population exceeded 108 million in 2022, driven by security, economic and environmental causes. In the wake of migration, acculturation and the affective-social, personality-related, and cognitive development processes of young migrants represents a special challenge in our time. Studies indicate that musical activities can have a significant effect on socialization, group communication and cohesion, language acquisition, emotional expression, empathy, and mental well-being in young people, allowing important conclusions to be drawn about social acculturation modes in relation to music. After a review of recent international research on the benefits of musical activities for young migrants, this paper will address how musical practices can positively impact acculturation processes for migrants and their host communities. In addition, it will critically discuss exemplary theories, methods, and results, draw connections between acculturative needs and the particular approaches of various musical activities, and consider implications for the practice.

Dr. Katarzyna Grebosz-Haring is an internationally recognized musicologist based in Austria at the University of Salzburg and Mozarteum University. She established the inter-university research area in music, health and society, and leads the international lecture series Music & Medicine. She has led several empirical and clinical studies on the social, psycho-biological and health implications of music and arts. Her work has a special focus on vulnerable groups, including adolescents with mental illnesses, migrants, and elderly people with neurodegenerative diseases. She is a sought-after reviewer for international journals, a vice-chair of the Association of Friends of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Salzburg, and a member of the Royal Society for Public Health UK. She has been nominated for the Salzburg Kulturfond Award for her work on the intersection of music and medicine. 

Followed by a moderated discussion