A brief History of the WGY

The starting point of the WGY was in September 2000 at the Annual Meeting of the EMC in Bonn. After a presentation of the work of European Parliament of Young Musicians (EPYM), the interest of the EMC Board and the participants encouraged the members of the EPYM to continue their work, as it became apparent that a better participation of young people in European music organisations was necessary. Therefore, the WGY was founded in Bonn in October 2000 by three members of the former EPYM.

What does the WGY do?

The importance of involving young people in the future of the music sector is clear and the Working Group Youth (WGY) feels that providing a space for this is vital. Musical life, and society itself, is changing more quickly than ever, and the participation of young people in the future of existing music organisations is the key to their survival and development.

The Working Group Youth of the European Music Council is a group of young people from all over Europe whose aim is to enhance youth participation within the EMC’s member organisations and throughout the European cultural sector. It strives to spread the idea of the necessity of co-operation between different generations with a focus on acceptance and involvement and of young participants becoming a serious issue for all music organisations.

The WGY is very aware of the added value that comes from working together. That is why we do encourage all kinds of co-operation with the young generation, in order to stimulate the exchange of positive experiences and to try to agree on common goals and objectives. Therefore the WGY presents special youth topics and projects to the EMC and acts as an advisory body.