Rationale & History

Music education is an integral component of participation in cultural life, itself a universal human right. Yet in most countries, quality music education is not accessible for all. Although solutions to this are essentially local, bringing global and culturally diverse policy perspectives to bear on shared concerns will strengthen public policy and related actions on all levels.

To date, knowledge exchange between policy-makers from different countries takes place only on an ad-hoc basis. In May 2018, the International Working Group on Music Education & Global Competence therefore called for a broader and more systematic policy dialogue on formal and non-formal music education among policy-makers from different countries.

Aims

We are convinced that many of the challenges we face today in music education need to be addressed at the policy level where important decisions are made towards the implementation of innovations. Bringing together policy-makers, funders and key advocacy organizations, the MEP Group works to reinforce the role of music in educational and cultural policy; discuss the problems of music in schools internationally; reflect on the role of the State and the role of society in this field; and create an international pressure group – a network with a strategy for and foundation in music education policies.

The MEP Group works to advance a global dialogue on music education policy by providing an international knowledge and exchange platform that allows members of the group to share information, learn from each other, network, and amplify their voices when championing music education.