EFM 2026 - Sessions Description
Panel: Policies for Music and Health
Date: Wednesday, 10 June
Time: 11:30 – 13:00
This session, moderated by Jennifer Davison, explores how music and health can be connected not only through individual projects and artistic practice, but also through policy, advocacy and cross-sector cooperation. Bringing together perspectives from public health, cultural policy, participatory music-making and international research, the panel asks how music can be recognised as part of wider frameworks for care, prevention, inclusion and wellbeing.
The speakers at the session will include Guillermo Rodriguez presenting Botiquín Cultural, a cross-sectoral initiative in Spain that brings together cultural, health, social and public governance actors to develop policy proposals at the intersection of culture, health and wellbeing; Sonja Greiner from the European Choral Association, highlighting the Benefits of Singing campaign and the role of collective singing in supporting mental and physical health; Ana Zão from the Portuguese Directorate General of Health, bringing a public health perspective to the discussion; and Nils Fietje from the World Health Organization, who will join online and reflect on the growing evidence around the role of arts and culture in addressing health challenges.
How can music become part of public health strategies? What kind of evidence, partnerships and policy language are needed to move from isolated initiatives to sustainable frameworks? Join the conversation and explore how music can contribute to healthier, more inclusive and more resilient societies.
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Exploring Artistic Intelligence as a Driver for Change
Date: Wednesday, 10 June
Time: 14:30 - 16:00
Facilitated by Monica Vejgaard and Mimi Harmer
In an era shaped by automation, overload, and fragmentation, challenges to wellbeing stem less from a lack of solutions than from a lack of meaning, connection, and shared orientation. This session proposes artistic intelligence as a vital public resource for health and wellbeing: the human capacity to sense complexity, imagine alternatives, and translate experience.
Developed and facilitated by Artistic Intelligence Service, the session invites participants to collectively explore artistic intelligence not as a specialised intervention, but as a societal capacity that supports resilience, empathy, and collective sense-making in times of uncertainty.
Rather than focusing on established practices such as music therapy, hospital performances, or participatory patient projects, the session opens space to investigate new and underexamined roles for artistic intelligence in society. The ambition is to move beyond existing formats and ask how artistic intelligence can contribute to wellbeing across sectors, communities, and cultural life.
The session takes the form of a Creative Circle, designed to move participants from connection and reflection toward collective exploration and future-oriented thinking.
The session will offer space to share very personal experiences related to music, health and well-being and space for a more targeted, action-oriented approach.
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Panel: When crisis disrupts lives, music can help restore connection
Date: Wednesday, 10 June
Time: 16:30 - 17.30
This session moderated by Silja Fischer, invites us to explore music’s role in recovery: after natural disasters, war, displacement, persecution, and political instability. Through perspectives from Indonesia, Ukraine, and work with artists at risk, the panel looks at how musical practices and cultural work can support resilience and create spaces of safety, expression, and continuity in times of upheaval. From young people processing traumatic experiences to artists and cultural institutions navigating crisis, the discussion asks how music can help people rebuild trust and imagine a way forward.
The speakers at the session will include Martha Lomeli presenting Recover with Music from JMI in Belgium; Taras Demko exploring Beyond Crisis Management: Building a Resilient Cultural Ecosystem from Ukraine; and Celina Jerman Bright-Taylor presenting the work of Safemuse in Norway supporting artists at risk worldwide.
How can music support recovery when lives, communities, and cultural ecosystems are under pressure? What structures of care and solidarity are needed for lasting resilience? Join the conversation and explore how music can become a force for healing, continuity, and renewal.
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Music, health and wellbeing in practice
Date: Thursday, 11 June
Time: 09:30 - 10.00
Holistic warm-up with Anna Bednarska
Participants will explore natural voice opening through breath, movement, gestures, and hard palate massage.
By working with vowels and consonants, participants will learn to locate sound in the body, develop resonance, improve timbre, release tension, and increase freedom in articulation. Through exercises focusing on expanding breathing spaces, building stability, and supporting the voice they will discover the influence of deep breathing and vibration on their well-being.
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Panel: Music and Health Across the Stages of Life
Date: Thursday, 11 June
Time: 10.00 - 11.30
Music doesn't just accompany life, it shapes it. Moderated by Robert Vroegindeweij
This session invites us to explore one of music's most powerful dimensions: its capacity to contribute to health and wellbeing at every stage, from a child's very first song to the quiet dignity of old age. Beginning with a curated showcase of bold and inspiring practices from across the field, the session opens into a dynamic panel discussion that asks how musical experiences can be designed and shared to create the greatest possible impact: across generations, across contexts and across every challenge life brings.
How do we unlock music's full potential at each stage of life, how does music contribute to health and wellbeing and how do we do it together? Join the conversation and help shape the answer.
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Interactive workshop: The Health of Musicians and Professionals in the Music Sector
Date: Thursday, 11 June
Time: 14.30 - 16.00
Musicians and professionals in the music sector offer, through their artistic concepts and performances, access to emotional expression and human connection. They engage with people across cultures, contributing to well-being, presence, and prevention through the power of music and shared artistic experience.
But how does the musician nurture their own emotional and physical health? Which processes strengthen resilience, values, and persistence in times of social instability? How can one sustain personal growth, motivation, and creative energy over time? And how does one continue to nourish creativity itself?
This interactive workshop, led by Angelica Postu, invites participants to explore these questions together. It focuses on strengthening personal values, resilience, and discovering practical techniques for continuous development, self-care, and well-being within the often demanding and changing realities of the music sector.
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EMC Lab: Music in EU Programmes and Policies Update on current debates on MFF and AgoraEU
Date: Thursday, 11 June
Time: 16:30 – 17:30
Faciltated by Simone Dudt and Katharina Weinert, this EMC Lab session will offer participants an update on the latest developments around the next Multiannual Financial Framework and AgoraEU, with a focus on their relevance for the music sector and the wider cultural field. We will discuss the most recent draft proposals from the European Parliament on AgoraEU, take stock of the discussions of the member states and the Council and look ahead to the upcoming negotiations in the next few weeks and months. A brief overview on the current status of Horizon in the context of the European Competitiveness Fund will be provided. This will be embedded in discussions around broader policy frameworks like the Culture Compass for Europe and the next Council Work Plan for Culture 2027 – 2030.
This session will provide space for exchange, questions and discussion on how ongoing EU-level policy and funding developments may affect cultural cooperation, advocacy and the future framework for music in Europe.
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