WIRED PROJECT COORDINATOR

I manage the WIRED programme for Yorkshire Sound Women Network, coordinating all activities including contracting music leaders, recruiting participants and strengthening partnerships.

WIRED is a participatory music technology programme taking place across Yorkshire combining face-to-face and online activities, enabling girls and people of minority genders to develop creative music technology skills alongside expert music leaders. An accompanying workforce development programme seeks to combat unconscious gender bias in music education.

With multiple strands, activities taking place between now and 2024 include:

• Face to face music technology clubs at three locations in Yorkshire, giving girls and minority gender young people aged 11–18 the opportunity to work with experienced music leaders
• Twelve outreach sessions across Yorkshire to promote the project, recruit to the clubs and other activities
• Nine online courses, across six weeks each, for young people to learn about specific music technology topics
• ‘Meet the…’ online careers focused sessions
• Research in understanding factors that may contribute to girls and people of minority genders disengaging with music technology, at what age this might occur, and what actions might mitigate against this
• Training sessions for music educators, offering insights into different kinds of unconscious bias and highlighting research into gender discrimination within audio and education
• Paid trainee music leader opportunities for young emerging practitioners.

The three main planned outcomes for the programme will be:

• Girls and young people of minority genders gain new skills and knowledge in using creative music technology
• Girls and young people of minority genders have increased knowledge and aspirations to careers in the sound and music industry and progress in their musical journeys
• Music educators (outside of YSWN) demonstrate increased awareness and knowledge of gender inequality and make their practice more gender inclusive.

Read more about our first WIRED Club in Wakefield during Summer 2022 on the Yorkshire Sound Women Network website.

WIRED is funded by the National Foundation for Youth Music. Youth Music is supported by the National Lottery via Arts Council England.

Photographs by Elspeth Moore