The AEC Strategy 2030 positions advocacy as a transversal priority across its pillars, with a particular focus on fostering the value of music and music education in society, enhancing quality in HME, and promoting participation, inclusion, and diversity. The Advocacy Plan builds on the AEC Advocacy Strategy that clarifies advocacy as a change-oriented process aimed at influencing political decision-makers, stakeholders, and public discourse, while also empowering AEC members to advocate at local, regional, and national levels. While the Advocacy Strategy explains why and how AEC and its members should engage in advocacy, the Advocacy Plan defines what, when, with whom, and to what end at organisational level, ensuring coherence, prioritisation, and continuity.
The plan is designed as a practical and strategic tool to guide AEC’s advocacy work in the coming years, in particular in relation to the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028–2034), the proposed AgoraEU programme, the implementation of the European Culture Compass and the Work Plan for Culture. It also describes key messages and partners in the different policy areas, and it ensures alignment between advocacy, policy monitoring, communication, and project activities.
As outlined in the Advocacy Plan, advocacy on behalf of Higher Music Education in Europe is most effectively pursued through broader network-based cooperation, in which policy areas, messages, and processes are addressed through a diversity of expertise and access to stakeholders across different decision-making levels.
Accordingly, AEC has significant interests at global, European, and national levels. In recent years, AEC has been deepening its cooperation with member institutions in EU candidate countries in the Western Balkans. In addition, AEC has been developing closer ties with Higher Music Education institutions in Africa, and first contacts to Latin American institutions has been made. These interests are pursued in consultation with globally oriented umbrella organisations such as the International Music Council (IMC) and the International Society for Music Education (ISME).
Similarly, advocacy in relation to the educational ecosystem within music has in recent years been coordinated through the Steering Committee for the Harmonisation of European Music Education (SCHEME), which AEC initiated as part of the previous Creative Europe Network project AEC ARTEMIS.
Furthermore, AEC is in the process of establishing a network linking AEC with national and regional associations of Higher Music Education institutions. The purpose is to strengthen advocacy towards national parliaments and decision-makers, thereby ensuring stronger representation of the sector’s perspectives within the Council of the European Union.
Finally, AEC has in relation to Artistic Research further deepened the existing cooperation with ELIA, Culture Action Europe, the European Music Council (EMC), the Society for Artistic Research (SAR), Cilect, MusiQuE, and EQ-Arts by forming the Artistic Research Alliance.
By anchoring cooperation in thematically oriented working and coordination groups, a higher level of expertise is ensured, both in relation to policy decision-making processes and to artistic and educational content, as well as improved access to networks and key resource persons.
Expected impact
Through coordinated, evidence-based, and partnership-driven advocacy, the plan aims to strengthen the visibility, recognition, and policy relevance of Higher Music Education within European strategies and funding frameworks. Expected impacts include clearer and more consistent references to music and HME in EU policy documents, improved alignment between culture and education policies, and funding instruments that better reflect the specific needs of the sector, including cooperation, mobility, networks, and innovation. By acting collectively with strategic partners, AEC seeks to amplify the sector’s voice and ensure that HME is understood as an integral component of Europe’s cultural, educational, and democratic ecosystem.
Broader and longer-term impact
In the longer term, the Advocacy Plan is expected to contribute to a more resilient and well-represented Higher Music Education sector across Europe. This includes enhanced advocacy capacity within AEC and its membership, stronger connections between European, national, and institutional advocacy efforts, and more effective participation of HME in cross-sector policy debates. Ultimately, the plan supports AEC’s overarching mission to enable its members to contribute fully to societal development, cultural diversity, and artistic freedom in Europe and beyond.
