MAKING PEACE LOUDER THAN WAR
For more than 25 years, Musicians Without Borders has collaborated with musicians and communities around the world to build peace and support the recovery of those affected by war, conflict and displacement.
Rwanda Youth Music
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Music Connects
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Bara’em Ghirass براعم غراس
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Al-Musiqa Tajm’ana الموسيقى تجمعنا
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Welcome Notes NL
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Kivu Youth Music
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Armonia Cuscatleca
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¡Soy Música!
View projectwe are musicians
In places around the world, in communities ravaged by war, displacement and genocide, fearless musicians are stepping forward. They know what music can do. They know that music can be safety, comfort, refuge and recovery. They know that it can bring courage. And it can build peace.
Music allows us to meet as equals, and defy the barriers of ethnicity, language and identity. Making music together requires listening, cooperation and trust. It creates moments where people experience one another not as enemies, strangers or refugees, but simply as creative, expressive human beings.
Music is not an addition to our work. It is our work.
PLaying for the long-term
We play for the long-term.
Our programs belong to the communities where they are located. They are designed in collaboration with our partners and built to last.
Because you cannot learn an instrument in one day.
One workshop cannot heal years of trauma.
One band rehearsal does not overcome decades of division.
“Peace isn’t built through words alone. Sometimes it begins by making music together.”
— Laura Hassler, founder and director Musicians Without Border
The power of musicians
Music is not neutral. It can build division as well as connection. It can fuel conflict as well as peace.
To hold us true to our mission, our work is grounded in three core principles.
The Power of Music
We all know what music can do.
From rock music to classical, from hip-hop to jazz to body percussion, the power of music is the centre of our mission.
Human Rights
The universal declaration of human rights was conceived and ratified by a global community of nations united by the desire to avert the tragedy of war and to hold all nations to shared standards to protect all human beings equally.
Everyone deserves dignity, safety and the freedom to belong.
Nonviolence
The origins of Musicians Without Borders are rooted in the nonviolence traditions of Martin Luther King and Thich Nhat Hahn. It is an active nonviolence, that believes that real change comes through collective action.
If you turn to violence, you have already lost.
Our Impact
Our 2025 impact report contains detailed updates on the impact of all our work last year, along with an audited financial report.
Organization
Musicians Without Borders is a charitable foundation (stichting) based in Amsterdam. We use music to help communities recover what war, disaster and conflict have taken from them.
Our vision is a world where music has a central role in peacebuilding.
Our mission is to use the power of music to bridge divides, connect communities, and heal the wounds of war.
We hold ANBI status, and are CBF accredited.
Meet the team
Laura Hassler
Founder & Director
Chris Nicholson
Program development
Wendy Hassler-Forest
Strategic development
Rens van de Walle
Interim finance manager
Anna Swinkels
Finance and Office support
Eleonora Ungaro
Operations and policy coorindator
Miguel Ortega Luque
Program manager Welcome Notes
Fabienne van Eck
Program manager West Asia
Miriam den Boer-Salmón
Program coordinator Welcome Notes NL
Shyaka Allison
Context consultant Rwanda Youth Music
Chris Malla
Fundraising consultant
Suelenn Graanoogst
Content and digital creator
Sarah Helander
Wellbeing consultant
Otto de Jong
Training development
Amanda Koser-Gillespie
Training content
Irma Kort
Instrument fund
Rinske Bakker
Program volunteer Rwanda Youth Music
Ray Gibson
Fundraising volunteer
