News

European Music Council’s Working Group Youth launches Manifesto for Youth and Music in Europe

2 June 2011

The Working Group Youth is a network of young people, most between the age of 18 and 30, who are involved in all kinds of music throughout Europe. In 2010 and 2011, the focus of the work of the Working Group Youth (WGY) has been the Access! project. In May 2011, the Working Group launched a Manifesto for Youth and Music in Europe. Throughout the European Youth Forum on Music (October 2010, Turin/Italy) participants had the chance to discuss and present their wishes for the future of the European music sector. Directly afterwards, a working group got together to analyse the feedback received from participants and produce a first draft of the European Agenda for Youth and Music. The main themes which emerged were education, employment and resources. Whilst a wide range of interests and countries were represented in Turin, the WGY saw the need to widen the consultation to get as much feedback from as many (young) people as possible and from all parts of the sector in order to produce the most representative and effective document. This was used to create the “Manifesto for Youth and Music in Europe” with the main topics: lifelong learning, professional training, mobility and dialogue, employment, resources, and youth as a resource. Manifesto for Youth and Music in Europe Young people (aged 18-30) involved in music in Europe today have much to offer to the society which will soon be theirs to govern. However, we also have particular concerns and needs which are currently being overlooked. This Manifesto for Youth and Music in Europe was created by the Working Group Youth of the European Music Council (WGY of the EMC) through its Access! Project in order to identify and address this situation. The consultation process was launched at the WGY’s European Youth Forum on Music: Access! in October 2010 in Torino and extended to take into account the views of individuals of all ages as well as organisations working in the youth and music sectors throughout Europe. This Manifesto acknowledges existing initiatives at European level relating to youth, music and culture and adheres to the Five Musical Rights advocated for by the International Music Council. With this Manifesto we call upon policy and decision makers on a local, regional, national and European level to rethink their existing strategies, to address the specific situation of young people in the music sector, and to act upon the following key requirements: Lifelong learning • Music making offers infants, children, young people and adults of all ages substantial benefits for personal development, social inclusion, the acquisition of valuable transferable skills, and active citizenship4. Music education must be a compulsory aspect of the curriculum in all European schools. • In order to ensure access to inclusive life-long music learning for all, it is important to bridge the gap between formal, non-formal and informal education. Creativity, diversity and enjoyment must be fostered through live performance and active music participation. Professional training • Professional training in the music sector must be interdisciplinary, forward looking and innovative. Students must be integrated into the development of new curricula; thereby recognising their unique skills and perspectives and their significant role in the evolvement of the sector. • Training, mentoring and professional integration schemes must provide the necessary artistic and entrepreneurial tools to survive as an individual in a fast moving market. • In order to ensure quality music education for all, both specialised and nonspecialised pedagogues working in this area must be trained appropriately. Equally, professional training for musicians must incorporate pedagogical skills. Mobility and Dialogue • Youth is on the move, also in the music sector. Existing initiatives must be adapted and directed to young musical and cultural professionals. • Mobility and dialogue between sectors and generations is of mutual benefit: frameworks and models for this must be created and fostered. Employment • Young people embarking on a career in the music sector must be supported, their skills must be valued, and they must be fairly remunerated. A legal framework at a European level for working conditions in the cultural sector is necessary. Resources • Financial support at local, regional, national and European level in the public and private sector is vital to fulfil the aforementioned requirements, as well as for innovative entrepreneurial start-up initiatives of young people in the field of music and the sustainable development of the sector. • Young people need clear information on the opportunities available to them and on their legal and personal rights. • Qualified, experienced and open-minded professionals at decision and policy making levels must act to enable youth participation throughout the music sector and beyond. Youth as a Resource • The participation of young people in decision making structures offers essential new insights and practices. • In this fast moving digital age flexibility and adaptability are crucial for the survival and flourishing of the music sector. Young people possess the required attitude and skills to keep ahead. • Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the music sector and in society as a whole is unthinkable without youth. Download the Manifesto or find out more at the WGY’s website.