2nd WFM Releases

IMC 2nd WORLD FORUM ON MUSIC

Beijing, October 11-14, 2007


Announcement #1 (May 30): Book the dates

Announcement #2 (June 15): International Network for Cultural Diversity CEO to deliver keynote/Trade association of the international music products industry gives funding assistance

Announcement #3 (August 3): In Beijing, high-level experts will discuss future music delivery systems/UNESCO joins the line-up of sponsors

Announcement #4 (August 24): Diverse perspectives on effective IPR regimes to be presented at dedicated Forum session: Come to shape your own opinion!

Announcement #5 (September 13): Come to witness China's thriving musical diversity - Between tradition and creation / Impressive line-up of Chinese sponsors supports the World Forum on Music

FINAL RELEASE !

Final press release (November 1): 2nd World Forum on Music went to the heart of music key issues


Registration for the 2nd World Forum on Music is now open! click here


Announcement #1

Paris, May 30, 2007. The International Music Council (IMC) is pleased to announce the 2nd World Forum on Music to take place in Beijing, October 11-14, 2007, organised jointly with the Chinese Musicians' Association.

With collaboration from other players in the musical field, the IMC presents its World Forum on Music (WFM) as a global knowledge-building platform on music and society in the 21st century, which explores a variety of topics from a diverse perspectives: cultural, political and economical. IMC considers its World Forum on Music as a most important contribution to setting the stage for the free celebration of music in the world.

The 2007 World Forum on Music will focus on four areas which IMC considers being of crucial importance to the world of music:

• Music in Development and Development in Music: the great range of issues confronting IMC and its members in the Music Sector Development Program
• ManyMusics - Fostering Musical Diversity: in two parts - 1) supporting traditional musics and 2) the UNESCO Convention for cultural diversity
• Intellectual Property Rights: a clarification of the new issues in this most complex and evolving area
• Music Delivery in the Future: again in two parts - 1) futures in musical creation, performance and delivery and 2) futures in music education.

By seeking synergies across different sectors, this high-level forum provides unprecedented opportunities for scholars, government officials, private sector executives, professionals from the civil society, artists and students to engage in serious debates on current key issues.
In addition, our host, the Chinese Musicians' Association, is organising a fascinating array of performances of Chinese music beyond even those normally accessible to most Chinese citizens.

As with all activities of the International Music Council, the Beijing program will serve the achievement of the five rights in all countries of the world:

1. the right for all children and adults to express themselves musically in all freedom
2. the right for all children and adults to learn musical languages and skills
3. the right for all children and adults to have access to musical involvement through participation, listening, creation and information
4. the right for musical artists to develop their artistry and communicate through all media, with proper facilities at their disposal
5. the right for musical artists to obtain just recognition and remuneration for their work.

In the framework of the 2nd World Forum on Music, the IMC will hold its 32nd General Assembly, which will include both business sessions and workshops for IMC members only. The workshops will demonstrate to members new techniques to meet the fast-moving challenges in the fields of advocacy, income generation, information & communications.


Announcement #2

Paris, June 15, 2007

The passionate Garry Neil is a Keynote Speaker
Garry Neil is passionate about cultural diversity and has spent much of the past decade fighting for the creation of an international agreement to protect it. As Executive Director of the International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD), he led the pressure from the non-government side for the creation of the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. (It's often called the Convention for Cultural Diversity by those of use with short attention spans.) Now he is working to make sure that the Convention achieves its promise.

Garry Neil will deliver a keynote at the IMC's 2nd World Forum on Music (October 11-14, Beijing, China), where he will discuss how the UNESCO Convention can defend musical diversity, e.g. in relation to other countries' trade ambitions and how it can foster musical diversity within borders.

A graduate of the University of Toronto and a cultural policy issues management consultant, Mr. Neil has close to 30 years experience in the arts and all cultural industries. After a 15-year career with the ACTRA, the union representing Canadian performers, writers and broadcast journalists, Mr. Neil formed Neil Craig Associates in 1992 to provide consulting services in cultural policy. For three years, Mr. Neil was also Executive Director of the Association of Canadian Publishers, and is a former vice-president of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

The INCD is a global network of NGOs, artists, cultural producers and others working to counter the adverse effects of economic globalization on world cultures. INCD has recently adopted a set of recommendations to State Parties to the Convention as well as to UNESCO for the effective implementation of the Convention. INCD works for the Convention to act "as a positive tool to encourage appropriate policies in each country to promote the full diversity of local artists and cultural producers, including those working commercially and not-for-profit." INCD's vision for the Convention includes that "culture is integrated in sustainable development strategies and [that] developing countries receive the support they need to realize the potential of their artists, cultural producers and cultural industries."

According to Einar Solbu, IMC Executive Vice-President and chairman of the Beijing 2007 Planning Committee, "the International Music Council is highly honored to welcome Mr. Neil, one of the speakers who will provide a heavyweight international perspective to the World Forum on Music's line-up" that also includes representatives of national music councils from five continents as well as of IMC member organizations such as the International Society for Music Education, International Federation of Musicians, European Association of Conservatoires, Europa Cantat etc.



NAMM sponsors the World Forum on Music
The International Music Council is pleased to announce that the 2nd World Forum on Music will benefit from a donation offered by NAMM, the trade association of the international music products industry. NAMM joined the IMC in November 2006 in the category of international member organisations. Its mission is to unify, lead and strengthen the international music products industry and increase active participation in music making.

NAMM is involved as an International Cooperation Partner in Music China, a trade fair to be held October 17-20, 2007 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Music China targets instrument importers, dealers, distributors and retailers, music schools & academies, orchestras, musicians. For more information, please consult the Music China website.