Season’s Greetings to the AEC Community
Dear colleagues and friends,
As 2025 draws to a close, I want to extend my warmest wishes to each of you across the AEC network. This has been a year of remarkable collaboration and progress for our community, and I am deeply grateful for the energy and commitment you bring to advancing higher music education.
Looking back, 2025 was filled with highlights: from vibrant exchanges at our annual events to impactful advocacy initiatives that strengthened our collective voice. Together, we have championed artistic excellence, diversity, and innovation. These are values that will continue to guide us as we look ahead. Our Advocacy Outlook for 2026 sets an ambitious agenda, ensuring that music education remains central to cultural and societal development. I encourage you to explore this roadmap and join us in shaping the conversations that matter most for our sector.
Looking forward, registrations for the Pop and Jazz Platform in Helsinki are now open, and I hope many of you will take part in this dynamic gathering of jazz and popular music educators. Your participation is vital to sustaining the richness and breadth of our network.
On a broader note, we welcome the recent agreement between Britain and the European Union to allow UK students to rejoin the Erasmus+ programme from 2027. This is a small but symbolic step toward rebuilding bridges and fostering mobility, values that lie at the heart of our mission.
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to Alfonso Guerra who finishes at AEC this month, and indeed to all who have contributed tirelessly to our shared goals this year. Your dedication makes the AEC community stronger every day.
May this festive season bring you peace, joy, and inspiration. I look forward to working with you in 2026 as we continue to advocate for the transformative power of music education.
Deborah Kelleher - AEC President
European policy developments in 2025 provided the basis for several major advocacy initiatives for the AEC, and it is now time to take stock of the results of our work. But let us also look ahead to the coming year and the tasks that await us.
Join the AEC Pop & Jazz Platform from 12 to 15 February 2026 at the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki (Finland).
The event was held from the 17th to the 20th of September at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest (Hungary), bringing together more than 250 participants from 40 countries.
Apply before 7 January 2026 to be part of the European Application System for Mobility among Higher Education Institutions (EASY MO) Task Force.
Join the three-day international workshop that will be held in Brescia, Italy, from 29 to 31 January 2026. It will take place under the theme “European Funding Projects, Mobility and Digitisation: Practical Tools for the Internationalisation of Higher Music Education Institutions”.
Join the upcoming webinar, “Teaching Artistic Research in Cross- and Transdisciplinary Settings“, on 13th January 2026 from 15:00 to 17:00. It will be led by Gilvano Dalagna and Jorge Salgado Correia (University of Aveiro / INET-md).
The AEC has launched a Network for Environmental Sustainability Officers at member institutions to create a space for learning, exchange, and mutual support, and to explore ways of contributing to the Green shift through institutional operations and curriculum development.
We are pleased to invite you to a new series of METRIC Online Sessions, online events designed as a shared space for inspiration, exchange, and critical reflection on the evolving role of improvisation in higher music education and contemporary artistic practice.
The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) has confirmed that MusiQuE – Music Quality Enhancement has successfully renewed its registration on the Register.
MUSIC4D's recent trip to Los Angeles proved to be a journey through time and a union between the memory of traditional instruments and the frontiers of new technologies.
The “Luigi Canepa” Conservatory of Music in Sassari (Italy) presents the international Ear Training workshop “Sentiamoci a Sassari”, a 3 day event devoted to listening pedagogy, musical perception, and innovative approaches to Ear Training.
After six and a half years with the AEC office, Alfonso Guerra will be leaving us at the end of this month to begin a new chapter back in Spain. Read more about his journey with AEC and the many contributions he has made over the years.
AEC Members Online Dialogue
In times of international conflict - when violence escalates and fundamental principles of international law and human rights are violated - cultural and educational organisations are increasingly called upon to reflect on their role, responsibilities, and voice.
You are warmly invited to an online dialogue session on 13 January from 13:00 to 14:00 (CET), offering AEC members a space to share your views and thoughts on how organisations such as ours should act in moments of geopolitical crisis.
This dialogue session aims to create a safe and open environment for collective reflection, embracing a plurality of perspectives while upholding our shared commitment to human dignity and international law.
AEC Events
29th – 31st January 2026
Conservatorio di Musica “Luca Marenzio”, Brescia
“Project Funding Opportunities, Erasmus+ Mobility and Digitisation"
12-15 February 2026
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki
AEC Pop and Jazz Platform 2026
9-11 April 2026
Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo
European Platform for Artistic Research in Music (EPARM) 2026
AEC Vacancy Platform
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
