Outgoing President Emily Achieng’ Akuno with the new President Alfons Karabuda (right) and the new Executive Board © Sanni Kahilainen
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COUNCIL - Press Release
On 28 September 2019, members of the International Music Council gathered in Paris for the organisation’s 38th General Assembly, elected a new leadership and adopted an ambitious work plan for the next two years. Alfons Karabuda (Sweden), composer and President of ECSA (European Composer & Songwriter Alliance) and SKAP (Swedish Association of Composers, Songwriters and Lyricists), was elected President. ”It is a great honor to be confided with the task of leading the world’s greatest network for music creators. IMC’s members come from across the globe and consist of all the various parts of the musical eco system. UNESCO founded IMC in 1949 to in a tough post war time to build bridges and values through music and culture.” Alfons Karabuda says. Throughout the past six years, Mr. Karabuda has been a driving force within IMC’s Executive Board, dedicating himself to promote access to music for all and recognize the value of music in the lives of all people, while exploring new frontiers of collaboration between IMC and other global actors within music and copyright. Mr. Karabuda succeeds in his position as President to Ms Emily Achieng’ Akuno from Kenya who received a standing ovation for her commitment. Alfons Karabuda adds: “When I look at the work being done by the IMC, I am struck by the importance of it, by the necessity of it, and by the passion it manifests in all our activity. In a more and more siloed music business, it is through IMC we can work across genres and together create and show the true value of music”. The IMC General Assembly also elected a new Executive Board composed by Roula Abou Baker (Lebanon), Charles Binam Bikoi (Cameroon), Paul Dujardin (Belgium), Martí Ferrer (Catalunia/Spain), Ardavan Jafarian (Iran), Jacques Moreau (France), Naomi Pohl (UK), Sheila Woodward (South Africa/USA) and Xiaogang Ye (China). Sheila Woodward will serve as Executive Vice-President, joined by Charles Binam Bikoi and Xiaogang Ye as VicePresidents and Martí Ferrer as Treasurer. The IMC work plan for the next two years 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. Over 100 participants representing 14 national music councils, 25 international and regional music organisations and 19 national and specialised organisations in the field of arts and culture took part in the debates. The General Assembly was followed by the 6th IMC World Forum on Music, which gathered some 350 participants for a celebration of the organisation’s core values, embedded in the Five Music Rights. This event also commemorated the 70th anniversary of the IMC, founded under the aegis of UNESCO in January 1949. 31