The Europe Jazz Network, the main cultural network in Europe focusing on jazz, improvised and creative music, and Julie’s Bicycle, the leading U.K. organisation working for the inclusion of environmental sustainability in the creative sector, have teamed up and developed a Green Manifesto for the jazz community. The Manifesto has been adopted by all the members of the Network and will be officially presented to the public and other professionals during the WOMEX 2015 World Music Expo in Budapest at a session on Friday 23rd October at 12.30h.
In the Manifesto, 106 members from 31 countries of the Europe Jazz Network, representing some of the main promoters, presenters and support organisations working in jazz and improvised music in Europe, state that “we present art with a fundamental desire to make the world a better place: addressing the climate change challenge and working with environmental sustainability in mind is a logical extension to that vision.”
The Manifesto includes the precise commitments that Network members pledge to with its adoption, including “to measure and monitor our environmental impact across energy and water use, materials consumption and waste production, and transport and travel” and “to continue to build our understanding of our environmental impacts and methods to reduce them by running pilot projects to ‘road-test’ new sustainable ways of working, including touring.”
The Green Manifesto has been developed in the framework of “Take the Green Train”, a 3- year project of activities funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and run by the Europe Jazz Network and Julie’s Bicycle with the objective of addressing environmental sustainability from the perspective of cultural managers and creative organisations.
The network session at WOMEX will be conducted by Alison Tickell, Founder and CEO of Julie’s Bicycle, and Ros Rigby, President of the Europe Jazz Network. During the session, the Manifesto and the Take the Green Train project will be presented in the context of the wider cultural response and the ways in which other organisations are embracing green policies and practices worldwide. Attendees and the broader WOMEX audience will be invited to share their own experiences and join in the discussion of how to scale up action effectively.
Alison Tickell, speaking about the Manifesto, underlines “This December in Paris, world leaders are meeting for the most critical climate talks in more than half a decade. We have everything to play for: this is a unique moment to galvanise momentum to build a more sustainable world and this Manifesto from the Europe Jazz Network, bringing together the jazz community to create change from the inside out, sends a strong signal that the creative industries will not stand on the sidelines.”
Ros Rigby comments “As President of EJN I am very proud that all of our 106 member organisations have agreed our Green Manifesto and are keen to learn from each others’ experiences in addressing environmental sustainability in their work- whether they are large festivals or small jazz clubs. We are also keen to discuss this issue in the wider musical community, and WOMEX is an ideal opportunity to do this; we hope that this will become a regular topic for future WOMEX Conference sessions and networking events.”
The Manifesto has been in large part based on a seminar and workshop on environmental sustainability in jazz that took place in April 2015 during the Gateshead International Jazz Festival. To support the EJN membership to take action on the Manifesto commitments, an online platform is being developed with information and best practices. Additionally, a pilot “European green tour” action research project featuring world-renowned experimental saxophonist Evan Parker will be implemented in February/April 2016. The tour will be arranged using trains as transportation means, and specific work will be done to reduce the environmental impact at each venue. The experience will be documented and its outcomes disseminated in order for other organisations to be able to undertake similar actions in the future.
The Take the Green Train Network Session at WOMEX will take place on Friday 23rd October 2015 at 12.30h at Network Room 1 in Bálna, Budapest Hungary. The European Jazz Network will also be present at the WOMEX general fair at stand number 1.13.
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Julie’s Bicycle
Julie’s Bicycle is the leading global charity bridging the gap between environmental sustainability and the creative industries, providing the inspiration, expertise and resources to help cultural organisations across the UK and intentionally measure, manage and reduce their environmental impacts.
Europe Jazz Network
The Europe Jazz Network was created in 1987 as a Europe-wide association of producers, presenters and supporting organisations specialised in creative music, contemporary jazz and improvised music. Currently EJN includes 106 members (festivals, clubs and concert venues, independent promoters, national organisations) in 31 countries. EJN exists to support the identity and diversity of jazz in Europe and broaden awareness of this vital area of music as a cultural and educational force.
WOMEX
WOMEX is the world’s biggest professional music Conference, Trade Fair and Showcase Festival for World, Roots, Folk, Ethnic, Traditional, Alternative World, Local and Diaspora music. Its first edition was in Berlin, in 1994. WOMEX regularly welcomes 2,400 delegates and 1,200 companies from 90 countries, with 245 Stands, 61 Showcase acts on 8 stages, Conference and Network Sessions and Film Screenings.
