Working Group Participation

Chaired by Sonja Greiner, this group examined participation in music. A shared musical experience, participation refers to non-formal and informal education and amateur music-making. It includes any kind of meaningful activity involving music-making, learning or listening, and is often characterised by the involvement of musicians who are not paid for making music. Participation covers a vast array of music activities, from audience involvement at concerts to flashmobs to open singing.

Cooperation

• To improve the scope and quality of activities, cooperation should be encouraged and facilitated:
• between organisations in the sector
• between formal and non-formal music education
• with other sectors (social, health, business, etc.)
• across borders.

Training

• A higher professionalisation of the staff of music organisations and of music leaders (conductors, teachers, workshop leaders, facilitators) should also be targeted, mainly through:
• basic training
• training on new technologies
• knowledge sharing (i.e., guidelines for remuneration)
• quantitative and qualitative evaluation.
• A “learning through music-making” approach should be adopted (in schools?).

Societal role

• Barriers to musical access due to physical disability, gender, age, cultural origin, geographical or economic disadvantage, should be removed.
• It is important to find ways to reach the younger generation, in part through digital tools.
• The value of associations and of volunteering should be recognised and supported.
• As a vehicle for openness and inclusion, participation in music-making is beneficial for individuals and for society as a whole. For this reason, it should be considered a human right.
• Following on the above point, this sector deserves sustainable funding models; this implies both long-term institutional funding and short-term project funding.