Youth Music Initiative is a national music education programme funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Creative Scotland, the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland.
The Youth Music Initiative provides funding for accessible music making projects, to every local authority in Scotland annually, to create opportunities for all pupils to engage with high quality music making opportunities before they leave primary school.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Youth Music Initiative, and we are excited to be celebrating the significant reach and impact of the programme, celebrating the participants, and paying tribute to the pracatitioners and those who make it all happen.
Find out more at www.creativescotland.com/ymi
Vision: To put music at the heart of young people’s lives and learning.
The YMI programme works towards 8 annual outcomes and all East Lothian projects have one or more attached to them. These are:
A key strength of the YMI programmes is in the variety of music and music making opportunities that it supports. The What’s Going On Now? Report published in 2019 highlighted the need for a range of music provision.
On 8 April 2020, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) warned of the ‘grave physical, emotional and psychological effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on children’. The UNCRC called on States to focus on 11 key areas, including the recommendation to maximise all opportunities for children to enjoy their rights to rest, leisure, recreation and cultural and artistic activities and address structural inequalities that constrain these rights.
The Music Education Partnership Group (MEPG) is a network of music-based organisations set up to advocate for the life-long benefits of a music education enriched by singing and playing – for the people of Scotland. Click here to see their new music manifesto for young people.