Advocating equity, diversity and inclusion in music education
7 tips for advocating equity, diversity and inclusion in music education
Advocacy noun public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy.
Advocacy is one of those words we hear and use a lot - but how much do we stop to think about what it means? Jennifer Raven, Deputy Director of Sound Connections, has been researching and reflecting, and shares some of her findings and resources for others to explore.
As a founding organisation (along with 13 others across the country) of the Alliance for a Musically Inclusive England, advocacy and influencing is part of our role. But it’s a skill and practice that we don’t tend to be trained in or consciously develop.
Writing this piece has challenged me to contemplate what advocacy really means, and how I use it in my day-to-day work: it has helped me be more conscious about the strategies I’m using and discover others I could develop. I have taken writing this as an opportunity to research, read and reflect, and I hope my findings are helpful to anyone advocating musical inclusion within or beyond their organisations and work.
1. Advocacy can be a misleading word as it has connotations of one-way assertions, with one person or party preaching their viewpoint. When I hear the word, I hear loud voices clamouring for attention. In fact, the best advocacy is two-way and involves building relationships. It starts with listening and learning, and the most powerful advocacy is mutually beneficial, whereby multiple people or organisations learn and develop together. I love the story early in this paper (see page 7), which brilliantly captures the essence and values of a more mindful, sensitive and relational approach. If you only read one resource from this article, read this one!
2. Advocacy doesn’t work when you focus on selling your own products - your motivation for influencing others needs to be greater than something that is for your own personal or organisational gain
3. A clear message and call to action make it more likely your advocacy work will turn from raising awareness into tangible action. This paper from the NCVO highlights this and outlines the facets of a successful campaign including messaging and calls to action
4. How can we approach advocacy from a ground-up perspective? This recent article in Arts Professional presents a grassroots model for change. Embedding meaningful youth voice and leadership in your work is a good way to embrace this approach
5. We need to be better at building an understanding of power and privilege into our modes and methods for advocating, and recognise our own position in order to better connect with and support others. This resource from Civil Society Futures shares tools to help address this
6. If you are asking people to consider changing how they do things, you have to help them understand the change in different ways and through different lenses: help them to feel and experience alternatives; provide real examples and evidence; explain the different drivers and motivations in order to appeal to different personalities
7. Last but not least, to be a successful advocate or campaigner you need to take time to look after yourself. This article shares self-care strategies for advocates and activists