Music Council of Australia
The MCA is AYMC’s ‘parent’ organisation, and one of the most active advocates for musical life in this country. See www.mca.org.au
Its National Cultural Policy submission is 72 pages long, and explores the following topics in considerable detail:
- A Definition of ‘Culture’ Is Necessary 5
- An Ethical Basis in Human and Cultural Rights 7
- The Australian Context for Cultural Policy 8
- Role of Government with Regard to Culture 10
- Possible Government Policy Considerations 13
- Achieve excellence 13
- Encourage innovation AND sustain the cultural heritage 17
- Achieve equality of access to participation 18
- Achieve equality of access to an effective arts education 20
- Encourage successful participation by youth 24
- Sustain and develop cultural diversity 27
- Sustain and develop Indigenous Australian art and artists 28
- Sustain and develop a diversity of languages and the ability to use them 30
- Provide adequate financial and regulatory support 31
- Foster financial self-reliance in the arts sector 35
- Develop cultural infrastructure 39
- Provide information that supports cultural development 43
- Project Australian culture internationally 44
- Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
- The Whole of Government: Commonwealth Ministries and Their Relevance to the Music Sector
- A Very Short History of Australian Government Intervention in the Arts
- Cultural Policy Statements from Other Countries
The section on participation by youth included a contribution from the AYMC. Here are some excerpts:
Encourage successful participation by youth
This section includes the following points:
· The interest is not so much in ‘youth arts’ as in participation by youth in all arts
· Relevant issues include arts education, innovation, equality of access, schemes to support emerging artists, the encouragement of digital music investment and innovation, all dealt with elsewhere in this submission
· The Office of Youth says governments must stop talking to young people, and start engaging with young people
· The MCA’s Australian Youth Music Council proposes in particular a small grants program for youth, demonstrated successfully already by the now deceased Buzz program of the Australia Council
General discussion. The Music Council of Australia has established the Australian Youth Music Council as an advisory body and also one which can undertake its own projects. Members of the Music Council and the Youth Music Council are agreed that while there may be musical genres or activities of greater interest to youth, the interest is in the participation of youth in activities of every type.
This philosophy holds for our submission for a national cultural policy. It assumes that youth has a role in all initiatives except those that are specifically directed to other populations such as the ageing.
There are some issues that especially concern youth cultural participation. These include:
- any issues concerning arts education, including innovation and arts education and equality of access
- investment incentive schemes to support emerging artists
- encouragement of digital music innovation and investment – not confined to youth but likely to have special relevance
The Australian Youth Music Council’s updated submission to the National Cultural Policy Discussion (October 2011) can be found here.
The content of this page is taken from information, provided by the credited source, and was already in the public domain through a Government website. That website has now been taken down. We have only used excerpts, with selected or block quotations, and in some cases have summarised or paraphrased the material. Please contact Alex Masso if you have any questions. Bold font is used for emphasis.
