Secretary General of Jeunesses Musicales International, Blashko Smilevski reveals how young musicians can contribute in building up a better structure of Macedonian society
Jeunesses Musicales International Music is an international network founded in 1945 in Brussels. Jeunesses Musicales International is consisted of 60 members from around the world which organizes 36,000 activities per year with over 5 million young people. Macedonian branch is known as the Music Youth of Macedonia.
Blashko Smilevski, general secretary of the Jeunesses Musicales International and Youth Policy Advisor for the World Bank reveals how music and engaging young people through music can help in achieving a healthier and more aware youth, accountable for the challenges of modern society, corruption and good governance.
Jeunesses Musicales International work is concentrated in social inclusion, improving the lives of youth and developing a sustainable community through music.
”Music is not only our way of expression but it is a way to achieve our goal - respect for the positive values of society”, says Smilevski.
In Macedonia, the focus on which the work of Jeunesses Musicales International is concentrated are young musicians and their professionalization and specialization that will help them to gain additional skills and experiences that will make them more competitive in the labour market in the music industry.
”We work with all musicians who wish to perform and to present their music somewhere, whether they are professional musicians who have finished Academy of Music or are self-taught musicians who wish to play. We also help those who want to listen to music (audience development) or to work as promoters of good music (development of management structure)”, says Smilevski.
Smilevski says that despite attempts by the Music Youth of Macedonia and promotion of Macedonian musicians there is no space in Macedonia for expression of the musicians.
”The main problem in Macedonia is the lack of representation of musical education in schools and the small number of specialist music schools. Even if you want to learn music, you can’t do it because there are only few schools that teach music. That means less transfer from lower to higher professional music education. That is way in Macedonia we have a situation that is been happening in the last 10 or 15 years witch is decreasing of the number of students in music. Conversely, we have a lot of Macedonian musicians that are studying abroad”, says Smilevski.
Another problem associated with poor promotion of the musicians in Macedonia is the financial weakness of the state, says Smilevski. "Everywhere in the world when there are cuts in the budget, the first thing where the governments’ make cuts is the in field of culture. The same happens in Macedonia”, adds Smilevski. I think that today there is less non-governmental sector in culture, because organizations working in this area get minimal amount of funding from the existing budget of the state, says Smilevski.
According to Smilevski, the problem that is affecting the promotion of music in Macedonia is its centralization. Beside the festivals, cultural events, especially in classical music, are focused only in the capital while in the inside towns of the country there is nothing happening.
Generally, the number of youth participating in NGOs in Europe is very small. In music, young and ambitious artists today have a new trend of direct expression of their ideas and opinions, rather than membership in organizations such as Music Youth of Macedonia.
”For example, hip-hop music today is mass-accepted and very present in the world and in Macedonia and is one way young people directly, without mediation of the NGO express their opinions, their critical attitude and disagreement with the social context in which they live", says Smilevski.
Unfortunately in Macedonia musical youth activism represented by hip-hop music does not reach those to whom the message in their lyrics is intended.
”In Macedonia we don’t produce art just so that there will be something happening. We create many quality works, but we need much more. We have many good ideas, but we have a bad implementation and infrastructure”, says Smilevski.
”We have wonderful musicians, regardless of what music they are promoting. In Macedonia is not the question that we have no idea the thing is that we do not have a good infrastructure to move from local to national level. If you don’t build a stable infrastructure you can not achieve anything”, says Smilevski.
In reality, civil society advocates for good governance, respect for the positive human values and for all issues that apply to young people at local or national level, that should be happening in Macedonia also, says Smilevski.
”Only through this kind of positive campaign, just by promoting positive values, a young man can achieve success in its mission”, says Smilevski.
Blashko Smilevski on the Global Youth Forum - Mobilizing youth against corruption held in Brussels, gave lecture on Culture and Development – Linkages and added value of cultural elements in maximizing the potentials of development projects with a focus on anti-corruption.
Marija Sevrieva
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