# European Music Council

The European Music Council (EMC) is a regional group of the International Music Council (IMC) representing Europe. It was established in 1972 as the 'European regional group of the IMC' and was renamed the European Music Council in 1992. The IMC was founded by UNESCO in 1949, and is, today, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which still retains formal relations with UNESCO. Until 2000 the secretariat was based in Aarau, Switzerland, and is now in Bonn, Germany.
The EMC functions as a non-governmental advisory body on musical matters. The membership includes National Music Councils from 15 European countries (including countries outside the European Union such as Azerbaijan, Israel, Russia, and Switzerland); 17 European music organisations; 17 international music organisations and 25 national music organisations or organisations that specialise in specific areas of music.
In 2018, the EMC signed a petition in support of Article 13 in the EU's Copyright Directive, designed to provide attribution and copyright to creators on platforms such as YouTube.

## Members

As of August 2021, The European Music Council has 74 members based in 28 countries.

### National Music Councils

National music councils represented are Austria, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

### International Music Organisations

The EMC has 17 members that carry out work on an international level (defined as an organisation that has members or carries out activities in a minimum of ten countries outside of Europe).
* European Festivals Association (EFA)
* Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica
* International Association of Music Information Centres (IAMIC)
* International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML)
* International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ)
* International Confederation of Accordionists (ICA)
* International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music (ICEM)
* International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM)
* International Federation of Chopin Societies (IFCS)
* International Federation of Musicians (FIM)
* International Music and Media Centre (IMZ)
* International Music Products Association, NAMM
* International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM)
* International Society for Music Education
* Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI)
* World Federation of Amateur Orchestras (WFAO)
* World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC)

### European Music Organisations

There are 18 organisations in the 'European Music Organisations' category of the EMC (defined as operating in a minimum of 20% of Europe).
* Europe Jazz Network (EJN)
* European Association for Music in Schools (EAS)
* European Association of Conservatoires (AEC)
* European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
* European Chamber Music Teachers Association (ECMTA)
* European Choral Association-Europa Cantat (ECA)
* European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA)
* European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO)
* European Early Music Network (REMA)
* European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO)
* European Music School Union (EMU)
* European Orchestra Federation (EOFed)
* European String Teachers Association
* European Union of Music Competitions for Youth
* European Voice Teachers Association e.v. (EVTA)
* Live DMA - European Network for Music Venues and festivals
* Tenso Network Europe
* European Folk Network (EFN)
* SIMM research platform

### National and Specialised Organisations

There are 23 National and Specialised Organisations in the European Music Council's membership (defined as any legal constituted organisation, association, society, company, foundation, corporation or NGO working in the field of arts and culture, which does not fulfil the requirements of an international or regional musical organisation or National Music Council)
* Associazione Emiliano Romagnola Cori (AERCO)
* Association Nationale Cultures et Traditions
* BOZAR - Center for Fine Arts
* Bulgarian Music Association
* CHROMA/Zebrock
* Cyprus Symphony Orchestra Foundation
* Federació Catalana d'Entitats Corals
* Federació Catalana De Societats Musicals
* Flemish Music Council
* Hispania Música Foundation
* L'Alliance Musicale Luxembourg
* Live Music Now! Scotland
* Miso Music Portugal
* Moviment Coral Català
* Music Austria
* Music Council of the French Community of Belgium
* Plate-forme interrégionale
* SafeMUSE - Safe Music Havens Initiative
* Society of Music Merchants (SOMM)
* Scottish Music Centre
* Trib'Art Association
* Unison – Croatian Music Alliance
* Asociatia MuseArt

## Board of the European Music Council

The Board of the European Music Council consists of seven members and they are elected every two years at the EMC's Annual Meeting.
The seven current board members, elected at the EMC's online Annual Meeting in June 2021 are:
* Victoria Liedbergius (NO), President, nominated by the European Choral Association - Europa Cantat, Administrative Director of Ung i Kor
* Audrey Guerre (FR), Vice President, nominated by Live DMA, Coordinator at Live DMA
* Willem van Moort (NL), Treasurer, nominated by the European Music School Union, Director of BplusC
* Joanna Grotkowska (PL), nominated by the Polish Music Council, Music critic, journalist and radio producer
* Michalis Karakatsanis (CYP), nominated by the International Association of Music Information Centres, Administrator of the Cyprus Music Information Centre
* Harrie van den Elsen (NL), nominated by the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC), Dean Prince Claus Conservatoire Hanze University of Applied Sciences
* David Zsoldos (HU), nominated by the Hungarian Music Council, President of JM Hungary

## Annual meetings

The European Music Council hosts an annual meeting to discuss the work of the council. From 2010, the Annual Meeting was combined with a new European Forum on Music, based on the model set by the International Music Council's World Forum on Music.
| Year | Place | Theme |
| 2004 | The Hague, the Netherlands | Conference on 'Improvisation in Music' |
| 2005 | Budapest, Hungary | Forum 'Many Musics in Europe' |
| 2006 | Malmö, Sweden | 'Turning Points: Music, Youth Diversity' |
| 2007 | Barcelona, Spain | 'Chances and Challenges: Music and the Future' |
| 2008 | Brno, Czech Republic | Forum 'Access to Music: New Perspectives in Distribution, Education and Politics' |
| 2009 | Athens, Greece | 'ExTra Final Event: Immigration and Multiculturalism. The Musical Dimension' |
| 2010 | Vienna, Austria | 1st European Forum on Music:'Music Diversity: Looking Back, Looking Forward' |
| 2011 | Tallinn, Estonia | 4th World Forum on Music: 'Music and Social Change' - in cooperation with the IMC |
| 2012 | Istanbul, Turkey | 2nd European Forum on Music:'Transcending Boundaries – Building Bridges' |
| 2013 | Glasgow, Scotland | 3rd European Forum on Music:'Re>>generating Europe through Music' |
| 2014 | Bern, Switzerland | 4th European Forum on Music:'Music and Politics: a shared responsibility' |
| 2015 | Riga, Latvia | 5th European Forum on Music:'Access to Music is digital?' |
| 2016 | Wrocław, Poland | 6th European Forum on Music:'Musical Homelands: New Territories' |
| 2017 | Paphos, Cyprus | 7th European Forum on Music:'Music and Cultural Diplomacy: Linking Continents – Bridging Cultures' |
| 2018 | Oslo, Norway | 8th European Forum on Music: 'Looking Back – Looking Forward. The Future of Europe’s Musical Roots' |
| 2019 | Paris, France | 6th World Forum on Music: 'Give me Five: The Five Music Rights in Action!' - in cooperation with the IMC |
| 2020 | Online | European Forum on Music Online Series: 'Climate Action: Music as a Driver for Change' |
| 2021 | Online | European Forum on Music: 'Claiming a front row seat. The place of music in society' |

## Projects and other events
### European Forum for Music Education and Training (EFMET)

The European Forum for Music Education and Training (EFMET), was formed in 2003 with the aim of bringing organisations that deal with formal and non-formal music education together. It ways supported by the European Commission through its Culture programme. It aimed to improve the collaboration and communication between the facilitators on formal and non-formal music education, map current trends, and formulate recommendations for future use.

### ExTra! Exchange Traditions

The aim of the ExTra! project was to stimulate the exchange of different musical traditions in Europe. Its main focus was on the integration of the musical traditions of immigrants and cultural minorities together with those already existing in Europe.
The European Music Council, as coordinator, usually collaborates with some of its member organisations, as well as other interested parties, for projects. In ExTra!, they were:
* Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica, Italy
* Cité de la musique
* Association Nationale Cultures et Traditions (ANCT), France
* International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation (IYMF), Belgium
* Music Information Centre Austria (mica)
* En Chordais, Greece

### Music on Troubled Soils

Music on Troubled Soils was a conference held in Jerusalem in 2008 which discussed the role of music in troubled regions such as Israel, Cyprus and South Africa.
Speakers included: Marco Abbondanza, founder and director of 7 Sois 7 luas International Festival; Alenka Barber-Kersovan, lecturer at the Institute for Musicology of the University of Hamburg; Nenad Bogdanovic is a Serbian born Cypriot musician, organizer and youth-cultural worker; Veronika Cohen, Chairperson of the Department of Music Education at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance; Danny Felsteiner, director of the Silwan Music School in East Jerusalem; Marion Haak; Rahib Haddad, conductor; Laura Hassler, director of Musicians without Borders; Timo Klemettinen, Secretary General of the Finnish Music Council and Chairman of the EMC Board; Dubi Lenz, artistic director in Israel; Melisse Lewine-Boskovich, founder of the Arab-Jewish Adamai Ensemble; Myrna Lewis; Dochy Lichtensztajn, musicologist; Eva de Mayo, conductor and music teacher; Henrik Melius, founder of Spiritus Mundi; David Sanders, director of the National Music Council of the United States; Edwin Seroussi, Professor of Musicology and Director of the Jewish Music Research Center of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Maya Shavit, founder of the Efroni girls' choir; Hania Souda Sabbara, director of the Magnificat Institute; Wouter Turkenburg, the founder of the International Association of Schools of Jazz; Merlijn Twaalfhoven, composer; Frans Wolfkamp, managing director of Music in ME.

### European Agenda for Music

* Vision
The European Agenda for Music aims to converge the European music sector’s many voices in order to establish an ongoing dialogue between policy makers and music sector stakeholders and was successfully launched on 21 March 2018.
* Approach
The European Agenda for Music contributes to a musically thriving Europe by setting out priorities for the music sector in Europe for the years to come. The European Agenda for Music took into account the specific advocacy papers the EMC formulated in 2010 and 2011, which are the “Manifesto for Youth and Music in Europe” and the “Bonn Declaration” that gives recommendation for the music education sector in Europe and for national and European legislation.

### STAMP - Shared Training Activities for Music Professionals

STAMP responds to a need voiced by professionals in the music sector for greater professional training and the related process of lifelong learning and will aim at:
* Developing exemplary tools for vocational training (workshop models, guidelines for mentors and trainers), made available in an online platform.
* Improving employability and entrepreneurship within the music sector in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe.

### SHIFT - Shared Initiatives for Training

The project SHIFT will provide training initiatives for cultural leaders, working together and creating paths to face such global challenges. The partners will produce online manuals and guidelines during these two next years (December 2019-December 2021) on the following themes:
* Cultural Leadership.
* Climate Change.
* Inclusion.
* Gender & Power-relations.