International Music Council elects new leadership

Paris, 8 December 2021

From 25 November to December 8 2021, members of the International Music Council gathered online for the organisation’s 39th General Assembly, elected a new leadership and adopted an ambitious work plan for the next two years.

Alfons Karabuda (Sweden), composer and President of ECSA (European Composer & Songwriter Alliance) and SKAP (Swedish Association of Composers, Songwriters and Lyricists), was re-elected President.

”Recent times has shown when some parts of our musical ecosystem are under serious threat; all parts are affected. May it be one of our five music rights or one geographic part of our world. We need a global overview, global expertise and our global network more than ever to stay resilient.
I could think of no other organization in a better position than the International Music Council to address the flaws in our music infrastructure and to safeguard and promote true inclusiveness, quality, diversity and artistic freedom for all”, Alfons Karabuda says.

Throughout the past two years, Mr. Karabuda has been a driving force within IMC’s Executive Board, dedicating himself to promote access to music for all and recognize the value of music in the lives of all people, while exploring new frontiers of collaboration between IMC and other global actors.

The IMC General Assembly also elected a new Executive Board composed by Roula Abou Baker (Lebanon), Charles Binam Bikoi (Cameroon), Dorothy Conaghan (Ireland), Paul Dujardin (Belgium), Ardavan Jafarian (Iran), Jacques Moreau (France), Charles Sanders (USA), Christine Thomassen (Norway) and Sheila Woodward (South Africa/USA).

Sheila Woodward will continue to serve as Executive Vice-President, joined by Charles Binam Bikoi and Roula Abou Baker as Vice-Presidents.

The IMC work plan for the next two years foresees activities that will strengthen the IMC in its three pillars: as a value-driven advocacy body, as a network of networks and as a project organisation. IMC will upscale its action towards the advancement of its core values embedded in the 5 Music Rights.