Trier. The city of Trier and the association KRASS e.V. have released a song promoting child protection. The music video aims to encourage children and young people in difficult situations to seek help early – for example, if they are being mistreated, abused, or bullied, if they are suffering from their parents' separation, or if they are being neglected by their parents. Many children and young people from different parts of the city participated in the production, and they celebrated the premiere of the music video last Friday at the Broadway Cinema together with the creators and partners.
“The idea was to create something that as many children and young people as possible from all parts of Trier could identify with,” explains Elke Burchert, network coordinator for child protection, early intervention, and family education at the Trier Youth Welfare Office. She secured the KRASS Cultural Education for Children and Young People association as a cooperation partner for the project, which implemented the music video production between February and May 2023.
Marc Rohles, a musician from Bitburg, composed the music for the children's protection song and directed its production. The lyrics were written by Franziska Wonnebauer, an author from Trier. Several children contributed their ideas for the lyrics during a writing workshop.
Through singing auditions in Trier youth centers, a jury selected four talented singers who rehearsed the song together with the youth choir director of the city theater.
Other children and teenagers were involved in the filming of the music video:
Lead actress Finnja Lukas plays a girl who is bullied at school in the video. The 13-year-old regularly performs on stage with the youth choir of the Trier Theatre. Nevertheless, the music video project was exciting for her too: "It was a completely new experience with the camera, and I had an incredible amount of fun."
Lead actor Vitus Vasa fulfilled a dream by appearing in the music video and finally got to try out his acting talent. The 10-year-old plays a boy whose mother (played by Stephanie Theiß) is an alcoholic and unable to cope with everyday life. Instead of going to the movies with his friends, the schoolboy has to do the grocery shopping.
Both children are ultimately encouraged by the singers in the video to seek help. The video displays the telephone numbers for the children's and youth helpline of the German Child Protection Association (Kinderschutzbund) in Trier and the "Number Against Sorrow" helpline.
In the bridge, the children finally make it "into the light." The lyrics become more hopeful. For example, they say: "We raise the flag of hope. (...) We climb the mast, we have no fear of heights, the new world is full of wonders." And: "We've reached the top, we've made it, we feel powerful. The problems look small from up here, the moment is unforgettable."
This bridge is rapped by 12-year-old Adem Shakjirov. You'd never guess this is his first major musical project; the spoken word flows so naturally from his lips. Together with his fellow singers Johanna Richter and Lale-Geraldine Kirchhoff, he performed the child protection song in May following the "Dare to Speak Up" prevention theater piece against sexual abuse at the TUFA theater. The children received enthusiastic applause from around 260 students and teachers. Singer Johanna Richter recalls: "It was wonderful that we received so much applause; it really touched me."
Sixteen-year-old Lale is also happy to be part of the project: “I thought it was great that I could use my voice for a good cause and thus influence people. That really made me happy.”
Composer and producer Marc Rohles is delighted with the positive response to the music video at the opening event on Broadway: “It’s a really nice feeling to see this here.
The music video for the child protection song "Komm ans Licht" (Come into the Light) will be shown in the film previews at the Broadway Filmtheater cinema in Trier for the next few weeks. It can also be viewed on the Instagram and YouTube channels of KRASS e.V. and the City of Trier.
