On October 5, people around the world came together to thank our teachers on World Teachers Day, and on October 1, we celebrated the amazing power of music on International Music Day. We are taking this opportunity to bring awareness to the efforts of teachers and musicians around the world who enrich the lives of others through music and the arts. Music can fire you up or relax your soul, help students to learn, and even help plants grow! The House of Tales and Music in Jordan is working hard to make sure that young people around the world have the opportunity to learn about music and exercise their creativity every day.

The House of Tales and Music is an organization in Jordan that helps children express themselves and exercise their creativity through storytelling, music, and the arts. It was founded by Rabeea Alnasser, who has worked for forty years educating and encouraging creativity in young people. According to the House of Tales and Music, their students, children aged 4-14, “listen to stories from the East and West, tell their stories in the theater room to encourage them to acquire the ability to express themselves, then move on to the Studio, where they express their dreams and their ideas freely and without restrictions.” But the music room is what really encourages delight: “[the children] learn about sound…performing songs and chants to help them identify the rhythm of life.”

The House of Tales and Music is one of the many wonderful programs in Jordan that United Planet volunteers work for.  Volunteers who work with the children at the House return with a greater appreciation of the transformative power of artistic pursuits. The idea that free expression is of the highest value will stick with these children throughout their lives, and in the future they will teach their children the same appreciation and love of art.

In our October Global Conversations webinar, two United Planet Jordan Quest Alumni who worked at the House of Tales and Music, Annalise Kean and Haleh Torbaghan, will talk about how language and cultural barriers can be broken down through art and music. Register here to join the conversation on October 24.

Thank you, House of Tales and Music, for fostering the growth of young minds!