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© R. ANDREW LEPLEY

Silk Road Video
Video from Silk Road Project educational events, such as this workshop for teachers in New York City, and Silk Road Ensemble performances is available through Silk Road Video and the Silk Road Project's channel on YouTube.

Yo-Yo Ma answers questions from high school students during a workshop in Providence, Rhode Island

© DAVID O'CONNOR

Educational Principles

A set of principles guides the Silk Road Project's educational initiatives, including our current multi-year, multidisciplinary program for middle school students, Silk Road Connect.

Silk Road Project Artistic Director Yo-Yo Ma has outlined the following priorities for effective education, based on his travels and experiences as a musician. He outlined these principles in an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2008:

Passion-driven learning: Inspire curiosity and awaken students to a world larger than themselves, making learning self-sustaining by transforming it from a requirement to a desire.

Peak experiences: Make content memorable so that students can be transported by their encounters and can connect them to future experiences.

Disciplined imagination: Draw on all of students’ intelligences, senses, experiences and intuitions.

Empathy: Encourage students to understand something deeply and put themselves in others’ shoes, opening the possibility for unexpected connections.

“An education that incorporates the four priorities of making the subject memorable, inspiring passion driven learning, developing a disciplined imagination and fostering empathy will result in citizens who are active participants in shaping a future of which we can all be proud.”
– YO-YO MA