Roads to You is the name of a continued series of cultural workshops intended to promote peace and tolerance through music. The program was founded by Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

ian composer and pianist Zade Dirani

Zade Dirani

Zade Dirani is a Jordanian pianist and composer whose compositions blend world, classical, and pop music.He has had great support from King Abdullah II of Jordan, Queen Rania, Princess Haya, and also Queen Noor. He has performed before Queen Elizabeth, Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, amongst others...

.

Origins

In the wake of the tragic attacks of 9/11, Zade was moved to do something positive to promote peace in the wake of such a tragedy. He began a series of house concerts in a "humble grassroots effort to create a better understanding of his culture in the West."

Years and several performances later, Zade became interested in how to continue the positive momentum of the concerts. He turned his focus to how musicians, from all different nations, can work together to be global leaders and ambassadors of peace. This idea was the inception of The Zade Foundation

The Zade Foundation

The Zade Foundation for International Peace and Understanding is a non-profit organization whose goal is helping young musicians share with the world a more meaningful understanding of their cultures and expanding their roles from musicians to ambassadors of peace and future community leaders...

, and ultimately the Roads to You tour.

Workshops and Educational Partnerships

The educational partnerships are an extension of Roads to You beyond the concert hall and into the homes and schools of the communities.

The educational workshops provide insight into the evolution of the various cultures and their development to current day standing, and helps explain the source of conflict in war-torn regions while jointly exploring possibilities of conflict resolution. The hope is to educate and inspire audiences and students by making this cultural and historical information accessible to students, their families and their communities.

House Concerts

Roads to You musicians perform and share their cultural heritage with audiences in house concerts. They are often in collaboration with community leaders and partners.

Tour

Officially launched in May 2006 in partnership with Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...

, and Seeds of Peace

Seeds of Peace

Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding youth organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine. It also provides regional programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as...

, and sponsored by a host of community organizations including The Barakat Foundation, The Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University, The Center for Interfaith Relations in Louisville, KY, and The Mohammad Ali Center, among others, the Roads to You tour brought the same concept of promoting peace and understanding that the original house concerts did, but at a much larger scale. Roads to You held over 100 workshops in addition to several performances in 2006.

Musicians are chosen to participate in the Roads to You tour based on leadership as well as their musical ability. The original tour featured musicians from over 18 countries.