"Why not get kids off the street by getting them involved in choirs?". This was the starting point of a work by Abigail de León, visiting researcher at the Navarra Center for International Development (NCID) of the Institute for Culture and Society. In it she analyzed how four choirs in Manila (Philippines) favored the acquisition of values and virtues necessary for the development of human and social capital.

Abigail de León presented the findings of her research during a seminar organized by the project 'Investigar y promote la Education del carácter en escuelas de secundaria de Latinoamérica', from the School of Education and Psychology and the Institute for Culture and Society. The project is funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

From agreement with the researcher, the experience financial aid to acquire individual and collective values. Of the former, she highlights responsibility, learning new languages (singing in English, French or German), Education musical and self-confidence. Regarding the collective values, she emphasized making new friends, learning to cooperate, getting to know other cultures (trips are made to give concerts) or making contributions to the family.

"Creative spaces, in this case, choirs, are potential places of development of human and social capital, which reinforce the human agent who works in economic productive spaces the other part of the time. In that sense, the human agent who acquires or reinforces individual and collective values in the process of participating in those creative spaces becomes a better person in himself and, consequently, for the community to which he belongs," he concluded.

Involving parents

According to De León, the first goal is to show the benefits of choirs to parents, so that they will encourage them to attend. "Many may think that, with so many people in the choir, an absence won't be noticed, but the truth is that every contribution is irreplaceable," he says.

The researcher, who conducted this study at the University of the Philippines, concluded that it is vital to invest in the intangible dimensions of development. Therefore, after a year as a researcher at NCID, in February 2017 she will return to her home country, the Philippines, to advance this project with the University of Asia and the Pacific Choir.

According to De León, her ICS experience has given her the tools she needs to take her proposal to internship : "First, I studied existing choirs; now I'm ready to develop a choir for inner-city children.