Hip-hop for Peace
Hip-hop culture is much more than an artistic expression: it is a tool for resistance, self-representation, and social transformation. Born in the streets as a response to exclusion, violence, and discrimination, it has become a collective voice that challenges dominant narratives and gives space to those who have often been silenced.
With its direct and creative language —rap, graffiti, or breakdance— hip-hop connects with young people’s realities and becomes a vehicle to express their experiences, denounce injustice, and build new narratives. Through this urban culture, values such as peace, solidarity, empowerment, and respect are promoted, and community spaces are created that foster participation, coexistence, and critical thinking.
At ICIP, we have been working with hip-hop as a tool for peace culture for over a decade. We do so through the ICIP Hip-hop for Peace Contest, the Artèria gathering, collaboration with initiatives and organizations such as MedianT la Danza, Llobregat Block Party, Versembrant, and Erol Urbà, and by promoting knowledge through publications and spaces for reflection. This page brings together all these initiatives, grounded in the conviction that culture, when it grows from the community, is a transformative force capable of building a more just world.
ICIP Hip-hop for Peace Contest
Every year, hundreds of young people raise their voices through rap to advocate for peace, nonviolence, and human rights. The ICIP Hip-hop for Peace Contest, created in 2015, is a space for creativity and commitment, where music becomes a tool for reflection and social transformation.
Over its ten-year history, 3,000 girls and boys from across Catalonia have taken part in the contest through their secondary schools or through social, cultural, and youth organizations.
The contest is supported by the Department of Education, the Catalan Youth Agency, and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation.
Involvement in other initiatives
🎶 Artèria, international gathering for social transformation
Artèria is a space for artists, activists, and educators who use hip-hop as a tool for change. The gathering combines performances, workshops, and debates with a critical and community-based perspective, reclaiming urban culture as a driving force for social justice and peace.
👉 Check out the programme and the spirit of the festival here.
🌍 Perifèria Beat: urban culture and community connections
ICIP collaborates with Perifèria, a festival that focuses on urban culture as a space for resistance and collective building. Music, dance, spoken word, and graffiti come together in a proposal that connects youth, neighborhoods, and grassroots social transformation.
👉 More information about the latest edition here.
