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COMMUNITY MUSIC VICTORIA’S CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY MUSIC
Jon Hawkes
We have a dream: we
imagine a society in which everyone makes music, where music making is an
utterly normal and constant activity of all.
We don't chase this dream just because we think that a culture without
music is not worth living in. After all, there's plenty of music around
already - symphony orchestras, advertising jingles, venues of all
complexions, CD shops galore, music radio and even lots of music teachers.
We chase this dream because we believe that making music is a fundamental
human right and essential to becoming a fulfilled and healthy human being.
We can all make music and a society that does not actively encourage,
facilitate and promote this capacity in its citizens and their children is
deeply flawed and probably doomed.
Yes, music making is essential for survival, or to put it in the words of
the public policy makers, communities making music is a fundamental
ingredient of wellbeing and sustainability...
Read the full story
Policy
statement of the Community Music Commission of the International Society
for Music Education.
“Present and Future Ideals.”
Community Music is a vital and dynamic force that provides opportunities
for participation and education in a wide range of musics and musical
experiences.
Community Music activities are based on the premise that everyone has the
right and ability to make and create musics. Accordingly, such programs
can act as a counterbalance and/or complement to formal music institutions
and commercial music concerns.
In
addition to involving participants in the enjoyment of active music-making
and creativity, Community Music provides opportunities to construct
personal and communal expressions of artistic, social, political, and
cultural concerns. Also Community Music encourages and empower
participants to become agents for extending and developing music in the
community.
In
the pursuit of musical excellence and innovation, Community Music
activities also contribute to the development of economic regeneration,
create job opportunities in the cultural sectors, and enhance the quality
of life for communities. In all these ways Community Music activities can
complement, interface with, and extend formal music education structures.
For
complete statement, which contains many useful concepts, go to
http://www.mca.org.au/r18920.htm
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UNESCO'S Universal Declaration on
Cultural Diversity
UNESCO's governing body - the General
Conference - on November 2, 2001, adopted the UNESCO Universal
Declaration on Cultural Diversity, a text about which Director-General
Koïchiro Matsuura expressed hope that it can "one day acquire as much
force as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".
Mr Matsuura declared: "At a time when some might see a
clash of cultures in the current international situation, UNESCO's
Member States, convening for the Organization's 31st General
Conference, adopted by acclamation today the Universal Declaration on
Cultural Diversity, reaffirming their conviction that intercultural
dialogue is the best guarantee of peace, thus categorically rejecting
the idea that conflicts between cultures and civilisations are
inevitable.
"This is the first time the international community has
endowed itself with such a comprehensive standard-setting instrument,
elevating cultural diversity to the rank of 'common heritage of
humanity - as necessary for the human race as bio-diversity in the
natural realm' - and makes its protection an ethical imperative,
inseparable from respect for human dignity.
For the full text of the UNESCO
Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, go to
http://www.mca.org.au/r18800.htm
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