Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja performs at Menuhin Festival Gstaad to support Moldovan children

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, ambassador for Terre des Hommes-Moldova in Switzerland, performed alongside Europe's most brilliant classical artists at the Menuhin Festival in the Swiss Apline resort of Gstaad to support needy children in Moldova. The event also brought together the voices of 2,000 children considered at risk, beneficiaries of the project “Fii Ajutor Copiilor Tarii” /“Be of Help to the Country's Children”/ (FACT). Roughly 3,500 children from around the wold participated during July 25 – August 7 in the Menuhin Festival, which offered a stage for wonderful and inspired pieces of instrumental music as well as a platform for children to be heard in their quest to protect and support their peers at risk, especially ill-treated children and those living on the streets. One of the festival's parters was the Lausanne-based Terre des Homes Founation.. Its Moldova arm has been working for 3 years to consolidate public authorities and the civil society into a Local Council for Children Rights Protection (CLPDC) in 3 regions (Soroca, Ungheni and Chisinau municipality). The FACT project, implemented by Terre des Hommes, Lausanne, in association with Save the Children Moldova, aims to reactivate and strengthen the CLPDCs, to train its members in identifying and protecting children victimized by parental recklessness, abuses, exploitation and trafficking. Patricia Kopatchinskaja was born in Moldova in a family of musicians. She studied composition and violin in Vienna and Bern. In 2000 she won the international Szeryng-Competition in Mexico and in 2002 the prestigious International Credit Swiss Group Young Artist Award. During the Season 2002/3 she represented Austria in the concert series "Rising Stars" with debuts in New York and many European capitals. In 2004 she received the "New Talent - SPP Award" of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and 2006 the "Förderpreis Deutschlandfunk". Her recent tour as guest director and soloist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra was voted best chamber music production 2007 by the readers of the Australian Limelight magazine.