Workshop with IAML's National Representatives on 9 May

On May 9 we had our first ever online workshop with the National Representatives. There were more than 20 countries represented, which I found quite amazing.  

At the last Forum of National Representatives, we were focusing on membership issues. Matters around membership are indeed central to our Association. It is essential to stay relevant to the members and to find ways to attract new professionals. We are also facing new types of global challenges, such as pandemics, the climate emergency and financial instability. Federica Riva, from the Italian IAML Branch, suggested that we would engage an external expert. I thought this was a very good idea, since we are sharing most challenges with other membership organisations and it is always valuable to get an outside perspective.

I was very happy when I found an experienced consultant to lead this workshop, namely Lisa Collins, the Managing Director of Dovetail Creative Ltd. in London. She has worked with a variety of organisations with all aspects of community and member engagement, events, marketing strategy and consultancy for twenty-five years.

The workshop lasted for two hours. Twice during Lisa Collins’ presentation, we had discussion sessions in smaller groups. Each group was led by a Board member, who made notes and reported back to the big group. These notes will be very useful for the Board’s continued discussions about IAML’s strategy. The group discussions were fruitful and several concrete ideas came up. You will hear more about this from your national representative.

Lisa Collins guided us through the workshop very professionally. Among other things, she emphasized the importance of membership benefits. I found it interesting that she also underlined the value of emotional benefits. Belonging to a community is a very valuable aspect of being a member of an organisation.

Please, remember that each of you can play a crucial role as a IAML ambassador!

I recommend you to have a look at the website, where you will find a lot of good reasons for belonging to IAML. We also have a brochure in several languages listing membership benefits: 

• Our peer-reviewed journal Fontes Artis Musicae 
• Reduced registration fees to attend IAML’s annual congress 
• Access to members-only areas on the website, with access to the membership database, Fontes Artis Musicae online, discussion forums and more 
• Access to further training throughout your career 
• Connection with other affiliated international bodies 
• Being part of a global network of colleagues and friends

• Support the advancement of our profession through international cooperation 
• Help to set the professional agenda 
• Establish standard and best practices for cataloguing, archiving, documenting music and more.