WHAT WE DO...

Established in 1978, Project Troubador works to bridge cultural, racial and ethnic gaps by modernizing the ancient concept of the troubadour, By sending musicians, dancers and mimes to developing areas of the world, we strive to provide another view of America through our performance and interaction with the audience, By bringing our experiences back to American audiences, we hope to raise the public's awareness of distant nations and cultures with new ways of integrating the "world family." Project Troubador is a non-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code.

HOW IT WORKS

Project Troubador sends musicians, clowns, jugglers, mimes, dancers, etc. to perform in cultural centers, schools, hospitals, orphanages, town squares, churches, and marketplaces around what is considered the `third world.' Emphasis is placed on sharing these artistic traditions from both cultures, and in keeping the encounters on a personal level. Organizing shows in collaboration with local community action groups and non-governmental organizations in host countries, Project Troubador has strengthened the grass-roots relationship between these organizations and the people they serve. Troubadors have performed on behalf of HIVIAIDS prevention, rain forest preservation, literacy programs, well building, communities for the visually impaired, maternal-child health and family planning to name a few. All shows are free of charge.

Returning Troubadors bring their experiences home in many ways. Workshops and performances are the backbone of our School Program, exposing children to the rich musical traditions of diverse cultures through live performance and audio-visual presentations. The Project Troubador Grove Festival is an international folk arts festival in our own backyard, an annual celebration of music, dance and humor from ardund the world, Project Troubador has been featured nationally on NPR's All Things Considered and Monitor Radio and internationally on NBC's IA Cable Network News and Voice of America.

Financial support is generated through private donations, membership drives; foundation and corporate support, performance fees, sales of items such as t-shirts, cassettes and videos and support from collaborating organizations abroad.

WHO WE ARE...
Project Troubador consists of a board of directors, donating members, volunteers and an ever-expanding group of performing artists who donate their time to travel with us. In all aspects of our membership, we strive to be as diverse as possible.

Eliot Osborn, Project Troubador's artistic director, founded the organization In 1978. It is now co-directed by Eliot and his wife, Louise Lindenmeyr. Since our inception we have performed in person for over 150,000 people. Traveling by plane barge, canoe, train, bus, mule and on foot, appearing on national TV and radio both here and abroad, Project Troubador has sent over 75 performing artists to 15 countries.

Board of Directors:
Susan Hoag, Attorney, Lakeville, CT.
Dennis Lalli - Attorney at Dretzin, Kauff, McClain, McGuire, NYC.
Anne Ellsworth - Artist, Cambridge, MA.
Cary Raditz - Emerging Market Resources, Silver Spring, MD.
Louise Lindenmeyr - Executive Director, Salisbury, CT.
Eliot Osborn - Artistic Director, NYC and Salisbury, CT.
Robin Magowan - Writer, Salisbury, CT.
Stuart Leigh - Executive Director, Real World Productions, NYC.
Rebecca Kalin - Writer, MPH
Nancy Fitzpatrick, President Red Lion Inn, Stockbridge, MA

...WHERE WE'VE BEEN... 

Belize and Guatemala 1978 ...orphanages and schools
	Ecuador 1979  ...hospitals, orphanages and schools,  Peace Corps, USIS
DominicanRepublic 1987 ...public health "shows," public HealthDept of D.R.
	Sierra Leoneand Liberia 1982 ...schools, Peace Corps, EducationMinistry of S.L.
Senegal and The Gambia 1983 ...literacy programs, well-building,  Catholic Relief Service, Peace Corps
	People'sRepublic of China 1987 ...Chinese Musicians' Union
Nicaragua 1988 ...schools, streets, cultural centers,  Sister Cities Project.  "Teaching Peace" grant awarded on return by Peace Development Fund
	Brazil 1990  ...Fundacao Vitoria Amazonica, rainforest preservation, USIS, Recife
Russia 1992 ....Young visually-impaired musicians tour the country, schools, hospitals, factories on grant from Trust forMutual Understanding and Samuel Rubin Foundation
	DominicanRepublic 1993, 1995,1996  ...series of AIDS prevention/educationcollaborations with local AIDS educators focusing on prevention with youthsin schools, universities, sugarcane camps, on TV, 3-year grant from PublicWelfare Foundation for  AIDS Education.
Haiti 1996 ...African-American dance ensemblecollaborating with International Planned Parenthood, AIDS education
	Cameroon 1997,99 ...AIDS education with Kongadzem,a women's tribal social action group and ......
Cameroon 2001, 2002 ...over 50,000 secondary school studentsreached with the support of the New England Biolabs Foundation and the  U.S. State Department.
	Lithuania 2000  ...klezmer band returns to its roots to bring its joyous Jewish music and heritage back to where a once thriving Jewish culture is all but extinct.
Benin, West Africa 2001, 2003 ...working with local organization Centre Afrika Obota, performed in villages throughout the country delivering prevention messages concerning HIV/AIDS. Returning 18 months later to produce collaborative hit single about "protecting oneself" with local pop musicians and Beninian school children with the help of US AID.

WHY... Music, dance and humor are powerful universal vehicles of communication, however there is little opportunity for cross-cultural sharing to take place on a person- to-person level around the world. Project Troubador is unique in its fulfillment of this need offering a way for both performing artists and audiences to meet on common ground in celebration. Project Troubador helps diffuse stereotypes and prejudices created through television, commercialism, economics and politics and helps link people from vastly different backgrounds on a powerful level. When this dynamic energy is also associated with the efforts of local community action groups, its effect is amplified. By bringing our experiences back to American audiences, we hope to raise the public's awareness of distant nations and cultures with new ways of communicating positively. In a small but significant way, we work towards greater harmony in a dissonant world.

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