The Academy for Impact through Music
After two years of intensive preparation, the Hilti Foundation has now established the Academy for Impact through Music (AIM) as an independent legal entity and non-profit foundation. Together, they are committed to drive positive systemic change in the Music for Social Change sector to enable young people to reach their full potential in life.
Empowering young people to become changemakers
For nearly 15 years, the Hilti Foundation has supported promising social music programs in South America, Europe, and South Africa. But systemic social change doesn't happen for all children just by learning an instrument or joining an orchestra. Programs need to focus on how music learning unlocks life skills and better education and opportunities.
Working closely with these programs, the Hilti Foundation has identified needs and challenges that have also been confirmed by research of 300 similar Community Arts programs worldwide, conducted by the Community Arts Lab in Vienna: Besides financial challenges, there is a global need for teacher training. Furthermore, leadership and operational challenges, such as growing too fast or focusing solely on music performance, can prevent a program from maximizing its social and educational impact.
“With AIM, we want to address these needs,” states Christine Rhomberg, the Hilti Foundation’s Director of Community Arts & Culture. “Instead of reinventing the wheel, we rather build on the tremendous expertise that already exists in the sector, but is often not sufficiently shared and exchanged. We intend to help programs overcome their challenges and take a holistic approach to working towards our common goal: Empowering young people to make informed decisions for their lives, contribute to society and access and enjoy the arts.”
Investing in our future generations
Encouraging young people to aspire, helping them to develop their self-confidence and social skills and to provide them with the foundations to become contributors in tomorrow's society, is a great responsibility for all teachers in social music programs. This is especially true when students’ socio-economic background sets limits, preventing them from developing their full potential. For these children, music programs can be safe and protected places, where together with others they can discover and develop their talent.
They need teachers who are able to recognize and target their individual abilities and strengths using effective teaching methods to make every lesson a shared, enriching experience. However, many teachers lack the core teaching skills and training to enable them to do more for their students than provide technical music instruction.
Of course, this is not just the responsibility of individual teachers. Changes are needed in the general mindsets and leadership of many social music programs. Clear and visionary objectives set by leaders provide vital orientation for teachers and for students. Flat hierarchies and a collaborative spirit within the organization are good indicators that the program cares about more than just music making: Pointing the way to self-determined futures for young people.
Innovative teaching methods
In 2020, Fiona Cunningham, Executive Director at the Academy for Impact through Music, gathered a team of experienced program leaders and a cohort of thirty-five teachers from nine programs around the world to develop and conduct a pilot year of AIM. She explains: "AIM is an innovation lab. In the Firebird Fellowship program, teachers who strive for the same mission and face similar challenges undertake 15 months of in-depth training to become the best teachers possible for their students."
The Academy brings radical innovation to the field of Music for Social Change. As well as learning good practices that already exist, Firebird Fellows study how to continuously improve learning for their students through action research and experimentation in a laboratory environment. Each partner program becomes a research lab itself, conducting experiments, analyzing effectiveness, and sharing ideas with other educators.
Although the pandemic interfered with original plans, AIM was active online during the pilot year, creating vibrant, innovative ways to learn and exchange virtually. After the first fellowship year, Firebirds and leaders were able to meet in person, spending a week in August 2021 and learning together. Carola Christ, one of the Fellowship's first generation, values the fact, that being a Firebird Fellow offers the opportunity to actively interact with faculty from around the world towards a new, student-centered way of teaching.
Working together for sustainable impact in the sector
"Music in itself is powerful, but its power in a learning environment lies with the people who bring it to life: both students and teachers." Fiona Cunningham strongly believes in a ‘golden combination’ of music and great teaching to empower young people. With that in mind, AIM has established five pillars of practice that provide direction and focus for the teacher training and describe what Firebirds want to achieve for young people and for themselves: Holistic Development, Intrinsic Motivation, Optimal Agency, Artistry Without Limits, and Community.
"We know, it takes much more than good music instruction to achieve real social change," explains Christine Rhomberg. "It takes healthy and well-run programs, as well as dedicated and self-reflective teachers who never stop learning themselves. But foremost, we need a clear understanding of the impact we want to achieve – as programs and as a sector."
The role of Music for Social Change Programs
Music for Social Change programs not only bring music education to those who would not normally have access to it. They also fill a gap when children do not receive adequate schooling, whether because they live in a region where access to school is difficult, or the education system is poor, and the arts simply do not play a role. As a result, the programs often do much more than teach music – they provide meals, support families, and offer psychological support for students who have experienced trauma. Frequently, they are vital places of community pride and solidarity, where music is the glue that brings people together.
The Firebird Fellowship Program
The Firebird Fellowship teacher training program supports a cohort of 30-40 young teachers (Firebirds) each year, who work in social music programs around the world. The training provides an inspiring educational journey that allows each Firebird to flourish artistically and develop more teaching skills while feeling part of a learning community with other Firebird fellows.
During a full academic year in their local program, they conduct action research and reflect on their practice by recording their teaching. Supported by AIM coaches who provide feedback, they discuss next steps to improve their teaching practice. At the same time, the training serves as a model for the kind of learning the Firebirds will take back to their own classrooms to multiply that knowledge within their local programs. Christine Rhomberg knows, how important it is to work with someone who believes in you and encourages you: “That’s fundamental to gaining self-esteem and confidence, and is true for the Firebirds and their students alike."
The soundtrack of your life
Fiona Cunningham, Executive Director of AIM, identifies music as playing a significant role in major community moments in most cultures: “Birthdays, funerals, weddings, ceremonies, or as in my country, the first awkward teenage dances. I think music becomes a mirror – or a marker – for particular moments and most of us have a musical soundtrack of our lives, just listening to it.” But for Fiona Cunningham, the process of making music is even more powerful because it deeply touches the emotions. She explains, “As adults, many people are terrified of singing, for example. That's also what makes music so powerful because while making music, you have to face your human vulnerability. And when other people around you accept and embrace that vulnerability, you can experience the extraordinarily powerful feeling of connection and being heard for who you really are.”