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Supporting the sound of socialism
ROB MILLER, Cuba Solidarity Campaign director, reports on Play for Cuba, an exciting new campaign collecting musical instruments and equipment to send to young musicians on the island
A musician in Trinidad, Cuba
[Lucash/Creative Commons]
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PLAY for Cuba is supporting young musicians on the island by providing new and second-hand instruments donated by British supporters. The appeal was launched at the National Education Union (NUT Section) conference in 2018 and will run through to the first full national conference of the new union in April 2019 when a shipping container packed with instruments will be waved off from the NEU conference in Liverpool.
While Cuba is famous for its music, and teachers are plentiful, musical instruments and resources are often in short supply because of the impact of the ongoing 60-year-old United States blockade.
The NEU have sent a series of teacher delegations to the island over recent years and delegates always report back on the centrality of music and arts education on the island.
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