Merlijn Twaalfhoven receives Unesco award

Merlijn Twaalfhoven during the preperations for Carried by the Wind in the Palestinian refugee camp Jalazon. Photo: Adam Sèbire.

Dutch composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven is to receive a prestigious Unesco award. He will soon be able to call himself the 'Young Artist for intercultural dialogue between the Arab and Western worlds'.

Unesco has announced that Merlijn Twaalfhoven will receive the award for his efforts to transcend the boundaries between people and cultures and unite people through music. In the past few years the Dutch composer organised a number of projects in conflict areas such as the divided Cypriot capital Nicosia, a Slovak gypsy ghetto, the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem. He was able to bridge vast cultural differences through innovative concerts.

Inter-cultural dialogue is also the focus of Merlijn Twaalfhoven’s latest project The Air we Breathe, a vocal performance featuring fragments of pop, jazz and classical music, performed by singers from the Arabian, Bulgarian and Swedish musical traditions.

Merlijn Twaalfhoven will receive his award on 13 April from the hands of Unesco Director General Irina Bokova at the organisation’s Paris headquarters.

For an overview of all twenty young artists recognized for promoting dialogue between Arab and Western countries.