My Host : Jeunesses Musicales Internationales

Dates of the visit - 23rd to 27th November 2015

I had the chance to participate in the staff exchange programme organized by the Europena Music Council in November 2015 being hosted by the Jeunesses Musicales Internationales office in Brussels.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, I had to start the week working from the hotel and with the JMI staff we decided to use the day working online on a social media analysis. From Tuesday on I went regularly to the JMI office, a young and dynamic environment, the perfect place where to learn and put oneself in the game. The team, Robert Klimacki, Communication Manager,  Inês Moreira and Pietro Valmassoi, both Communications Assistants, made me feel welcome and helped me understand how much background work is involved in a large cultural organisation.

Since my main tasks in the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat are Communication and membership issues I focused on these aspects during my stay in Brussels.

In  the first part of the week I analysed and confronted our association´s communication, we talked and brainstormed about the cultural field communication´s necessities and the challenges that a good network organization has to face in the contemporary society, we furthermore shared good-practices and experiences.

Robert explained me their internal communication system and showed me the work platform that they use to manage projects and organize the office tasks.

I also had the opportunity to meet some staff members of Music Cross Roads, a non-profit organisation supporting the development of the music education sector and the music industry in the culturally rich southern African countries as Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

My experience was positive and inspirational, it gave me a new and wider prospective on the European Cultural Music scene and different inputs that I will put into practice in my professional and private life.