SIN(G)ERGY is an 8-day residential Erasmus+ Youth Exchange promoted by AUDRA APS and rooted in the experience of the SYNC IN! Cooperative music for inclusive youth participation training. Over one week in October 2025, it brought together young adults and group leaders from Italy, France, Spain and Denmark in the village of Alice Superiore (Val di Chy, Valchiusella, Italy) to explore how community music and cooperative singing can become tools for inclusion, participation and collective growth.
SIN(G)ERGY invited participants to experience music as a shared, accessible language that can connect people across cultures, backgrounds and levels of musical experience. Through a carefully held sequence of vocal, rhythmic and body-based practices, the project explored how cooperative music-making can:
foster meaningful encounters among young people from different contexts, supporting mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue;
encourage creativity, self-expression and confidence, even for those without previous musical training;
strengthen community building by creating spaces of trust, listening and shared goals;
develop non-verbal communication through voice, rhythm and movement;
empower participants to bring values of inclusion, diversity and active participation back into their local communities.
The exchange combined musical exploration with spaces for reflection, feedback and peer support, allowing participants to connect what they were practicing in the room with wider questions of mental health, civic engagement and community life.
SIN(G)ERGY offered participants a full-immersion experience in community music as an inclusive and cooperative practice. Centred on circular music and body music—where the body itself becomes an instrument through voice, rhythm and movement—the exchange combined sessions of Collaborative Vocal Improvisation, Circlesinging, community-choir work and body percussion. Through these tools, participants explored accessible ways of making music together beyond technical skills or “talent”, strengthening listening, trust and mutual support while discovering their own creative voice within the group.
Alongside the musical sessions, the programme wove in cooperation games, community-building practices, outdoor activities in the Valchiusella landscape, and moments of reflection using non-formal education methods. Intercultural evenings, participant-led workshops and the co-creation of a final public sharing event allowed the group to connect their artistic exploration with broader themes such as inclusion, mental well-being, intercultural dialogue and active participation in their local communities.
Activities took place mainly in the municipal theatre of Val di Chy, equipped with stage, light and sound system, and in nearby outdoor spots along the valley’s natural trails. Participants and facilitators were hosted at Ostello Casa di Alice, a community-managed hostel within walking distance.
All meals were plant-based, prepared by a local social project using regional ingredients whenever possible – a way to align the exchange with principles of ecological sustainability and local economies.
Evenings alternated between intercultural nights (Italian, Spanish, Danish and French), informal jams, and quiet spaces for rest. Throughout the week, Youthpass was used as a tool to recognize individual learning and transversal competences.
Beyond the residential experience, SIN(G)ERGY generated two main outputs.
1. Project logbook
Participants, group leaders and facilitators co-created a project logbook, gathering photos, short texts, drawings, daily reflections and a concise description of the methods used. It functions both as a narrative memory of the exchange and as a practical map that other groups can adapt.
2. Sharing Event
At the end of the week, participants co-designed and performed a public sharing event in the Val di Chy municipal theatre. The evening programme wove together:
opening cooperative-music pieces created during the labs;
participant-led circlesinging and circular music;
an original song composed collectively during the exchange;
contributions from two local choirs: the ZAC! community choir (Ivrea) and Terra dei Canti women’s choir (Valchiusella);
a large joint circlesong involving the audience, turning the performance into a participatory experience rather than a traditional concert.
The event was documented on video and shared with participants and partners as a resource and memory of the project.
Giulia Attanasio is a community-music facilitator, singer, vocal trainer and documentary filmmaker, with a focus on circular music and polyphonic songs from around the world. In 2017 she founded the Terra dei Canti project, promoting choral singing as a tool for community development and personal growth.
Since 2019 she has been leading a social community choir in Valchiusella that intertwines repertoires from diverse world traditions. She is a co-founder of AUDRA APS, an association working at the crossroads of regenerative cultures and the arts, through which she designs and facilitates musical and audiovisual training paths for young people, often within the Erasmus+ framework.
Marco Lorusso is a dedicated Youth Worker and cultural events specialist with broad experience in non-formal education and public space management. Since 2023, he has been a consultant for A.R.T.I. and the Region of Puglia, focusing on training, youth engagement, and mediation. Since 2022, Marco has also led Erasmus+ projects and managed community initiatives at Link and Agorateca Library.
AUDRA coordination team for SIN(G)ERGY:
Giulia Attanasio (project design & facilitation), Marco Lorusso (facilitation), Davide Giachino (logistics and administration), Valentina Corrado (video recording).
With the support and collaboration of:
BIM Dora Baltea
Comune di Val di Chy
Ostello Casa di Alice
Circolo San Michele
ZAC! community choir
Terra dei Canti women’s choir
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Italian Youth Agency. Neither the European Union nor Italian Youth Agency can be held responsible for them.