Making a difference – How to campaign on a local issue (online event)

What do you do when a service, building or fund you need is under threat? This event brings together people in music groups who have successfully campaigned to change something in their community. Hear from those with experience of what really makes a difference for insights on what to do to protect your music making and culture in your community.  

With local authority budgets ever more stretched, and costs of everything rising, the services and facilities that music groups need are often under threat. When that threat is acute, sometimes a campaign is necessary, to push back against changes that would fundamentally damage your group, or mean it won’t be able to operate at all. Making Music has supported member groups in their campaigning, and at this event we’ll be talking to some of them, and hearing from other speakers on what you can do that will really make a difference. 

We’ll be talking to members involved in campaigns to save their music libraries, from the New Surrey Performing Arts Library and Bristol Music Library. Our CEO Barbara Eifler, who supported those campaigns will also feed in her reflections about what actions were most effective, and we’ll be introducing a new resource to support any members building a campaign.  

We'll talk about:

• When to campaign – What are the threats to music in your community that might make a campaign necessary and useful? 
• The basics of campaigning – The things every campaign needs that will make change happen 
• What actually works – From real experiences, what moves a campaign from struggle to success
• Making Music resources – From evidence on the power of music, to a campaigning toolkit, how Making Music can support you to advocate and campaign for your own group.  
• Anything else that arises on the topic!

Who this event is for: Anyone involved in music in their community is welcome to join us, particularly if that activity is facing a threat that a campaign might help prevent.  

Cost: FREE for members

We will be using Zoom to host the meeting, and will send the joining link by email,  two days and again two hours before the event is due to start.

Please read the event information below before reserving your place.
 

Reserve your tickets now

Registration for this event closes at 8am on 18/07/25.

Event information:

• Questions will be taken via the chat function at this event
• Automated closed captions (subtitles) will be available at this event. If you require live captioning, please contact us to request this

Recording information:
We may decide to record this event, either for publishing on our website, or so that we can review it internally.

• We will announce at the beginning of the event if a recording is being made and what it will be used for
• We will usually record in speaker view, meaning only people who speak will be recorded
• If you speak, your image and voice will be captured in the recording
• Attendee names as displayed in a Zoom meeting will not be captured in the recording
• If you do not want your image to be captured, you may turn off your camera during the event. However, please be aware that if you do, your name will be displayed in place of your image, unless you have uploaded an image to your profile in Zoom
• Breakout rooms will not normally be recorded
• Your comments in the chat box will not form part of the recording

By booking a place and attending this event, you consent to being recorded in this way.

Inclusivity statement:
We aim to make our events as accessible as possible. If you have any particular accessibility requirements or if there is anything else we can do to help make the event a better experience for you, please let us know.

Cancellation policy:

Making Music reserves the right to cancel an event due to low attendance numbers, adverse weather conditions or other circumstances which make it no longer possible to run the event.