Music Crossroads International
Youth Empowerment through Music
Music Crossroads International is a unique youth empowerment through music program initiated in 1995 by Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) and presently encompasses five Southern African countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Since the program began 14 years ago it has grown to reach over 45.000 musicians and a combined audience of over 75.000 people every year. MCI is comprised of workshops, festivals and competitions to promote the traditional and contemporary/urban music of young African musicians. The project aims at creating sustainable musical structures in the target countries, improving self-awareness and social inclusion of young African individuals. MCI promotes the participation of young women in the program and addresses HIV/AIDS prevention through the Relationship workshops.
Thanks to the generous support from SIDA (Sweden), the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNESCO, MCI has developed into the largest cultural program in Sub-Saharan Africa and the most important youth empowerment program on the African continent. Since 2009 MCI is based in Barcelona and is supported by AECID (Spain) and the City of Barcelona.