The Irish Association of Youth Orchestras (IAYO) are delighted that former board member, Dr Dorothy Conaghan, has been elected to the board of the International Music Council.
Dorothy was proposed by the European Orchestra Federation, of which IAYO is a long-standing member, and will bring her expertise in the area of music and social justice to the work of IMC.
Dr Dorothy Conaghan is a Government of Ireland Postgraduate Research Scholar, an Affiliate Research Scholar at the UCD School of Education – Equality Studies and an Associate Member at the Centre for Human Rights also at UCD.
The IMC is a UNESCO based organisation in Paris which is dedicated to supporting and advocating for the development of sustainable and fair music practices and rights for its members.
In November and December 2021, members of the International Music Council gathered online for the organisation’s 39th General Assembly where they adopted an ambitious work plan for the next two years and elected their new leadership and Executive Board.
The work plan foresees activities that will strengthen the IMC in its three pillars as a value-driven advocacy body, as a network of networks, and as a project organisation. IMC will upscale its action towards the advancement of its core values embedded in the 5 Music Rights.
Allin Gray, CEO of IAYO and a former board member of both the European Orchestra Federation and the International Music Council said: “I am most pleased that Dorothy’s cross-disciplinary research and knowledge in music education and social justice will further develop at the highest international level. This will ultimately benefit young people in Ireland and in all countries in accessing music education and participating in music making.
“Such participation in music and in other art forms provides a counterweight to the consumerist culture that is blocking sustainability and allows people deep meaning and self-realisation in their lives.”
The Irish Association of Youth Orchestras is the national non-profit support and resource organisation for youth orchestras in Ireland. IAYO represents over 5,000 young musicians in 108 youth orchestras in Ireland and assists in the development of youth orchestras in the entire island of Ireland.
The International Music Council (IMC), founded in 1949 by UNESCO, is the world’s largest network of organisations and institutions working in the field of music. The International Music Council promotes access to music for all and the value of music in the lives of all peoples.
