The Irish Youth Music Awards is an all island music education programme aimed at young people aged 12-19, run by Youth Work Ireland. The IYMAs supports young people to learn personal development, employability skills, career and educational support via creative hands-on Music-based Education.
This includes industry workshops, creative collaborative activity- based tasks, performance opportunities and a college support bursary and is delivered through a network of IYMAs hubs located in youth clubs and projects throughout the island.
It has launched an Impact Report this week, showing the value that the programme provides to young people and the progression paths it has provided for them into the creative and music industries.
You can read the impact report in full here, but here are some of the main takeaways…
1.
The IYMAs promotes Social Inclusion
Two thirds of programme participants are from socially
excluded and disadvantaged backgrounds.
The result of engagement is that over 95% of those involved now feel part of a bigger community of creatives and musicians.
Building On Finding 1 – The recommendations are for the IYMAs to work together with key government agencies to better integrate the IYMAs into services and supports for socially excluded young people at the local and national level.
2.
The IYMAs supports Progression Paths for young people
The IYMAs supports progression paths to third level education via the IYMAs BIMM Bursary. This is supported by tracking participants.
Building on Finding 2: The recommendations are to support an increased number of young people to progress into creative careers, grow the National IYMAs Staff Team by working together with the industry, private, non-government and government agencies.
3.
Creativity Development
Over 93% of young people reported developing creative ways to express themselves through self-assessed evaluations. This finding is reinforced by the themes emerging from case studies of young people’s voices and experiences in the IYMAs programme.
Building On Finding 3 – The recommendations are to work with policy makers and service commissioners to increase recognition of the contribution of the IYMAs to the creative development of young people as an important proximal outcome for young people.
4.
Over 100,000 young people have taken part in and benefited from the Irish Youth Music Awards (IYMAs) to date.
IYMAs Alumni include musicians and creatives like NewDad, Curtis Walsh and radio presenter Tara Walsh plus many more.
5.
What the Creative & music industry say about the IYMAs…
“The IYMAs programme champions a new
Keith Johnson Director of Marketing & Membership IMRO
generation of music creators”
“The IYMAs programme is an essential
Ruth Medjber Ruthless Imagery
experience for all young people who
dream of a life in music”
“The IYMAs programme is an important
Alan Cullivan College Principal BIMM Institute Dublin
partner for BIMM and we are very happy
to be involved with it. It is an organisation
that embraces all that is positive about
equality, equity and inclusion”
95.5% of young people learned more about the creative and music industries.
82.3% of young people want to now follow through on creative tasks based on their involvement in the
IYMAs. This includes making a music video and song writing.
86.7% of young people now realise they can be good at music and other things if they work hard.
Over 93% developed music and creative skills and knowledge.
Over 86% learnt new creative and music skills.
Over 95% of those involved now feel part of a bigger community of creatives and musicians.
Over 86% discovered further career and educational opportunities that they could pursue.
86.7% of young people now realise they can be good at music and other things if they work hard.
