This Dance Party in Belgium is Launching to Aid Syrian Migrants

As much of Europe watches on while Syrian migrants flood the continent, the techno community, led by Ida Engberg and Belgian promotion company IKON, has decided to take action.

On September 17 in Antwerp, Techno for Humanity, a 3-room dance party featuring Engberg herself, Adam Beyer, Davide Squillace, Matthias Tanzmann, Guti, Mark Houle, Heidi and Youself will commit all revenue to four charities providing relief for incoming migrants: Médecins Sans Frontières, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, the International Rescue Committee, and the UN Refugee Agency.

We spoke with Ida Engberg and IKON's Cedric Claes about the project:

THUMP: How did the cold, robotic sounds of techno end up a supportive space for migrants?
Ida Engberg: To me, techno is organic, warm and all about love. If you go to a good techno party you will only see people smiling and enjoying themselves. Techno is not about VIP areas, not about what you wear, not about who you are or where you come from, just about the music and the vibe. It's a great platform to use against racism and prejudice

What's it like being in Europe where all this is happening?
Ida: It always seems far away until it hits you. Right now it feels like it's really happening here and now. The actual war in Syria has been going on ever since the Arab Spring, but just recently dead bodies started to wash up on the beaches of the Mediterranean. It's been horrifying to see and to just stand by feels so wrong. Thousands of refugees are walking across Europe in the hope of a better life. It's the worst humanitarian catastrophe in Europe since the second world war.

How did you put this all together so quickly?
Cedric Claes: We've worked continuously for the past five days. The fact that Ida contacted her colleague-friends, and we have great long term relationships with most of those artists and agencies ourselves, may have fastened the deals. We are all professionals for over 15 years now, so we know how to set up an event technically as well.

Ida: The guys doing the real job are Ugur and his team, I just came up with the idea. We asked our friends and colleagues if they would be interested in being a part of it and we got great response quickly. I think if you have the chance to reach out to a lot of people and possibly influence them in a good way it's your responsibility. Even a helping hand to one person is great, but if you can pull something like this together it's really an amazing thing!

Do migrants get in free?
Cedric: I'm not sure that the migrants we are setting this up for are in for a party at the moment, but if they would come, we would happily let them in for free.

Find out more at Techno for Humanity.