This report provides lists of the elements that are essential for a comprehensive, multifaceted and sequential music education program in schools. Among these elements:
·“Every student shall study music in each grade in elementary school.”
·In secondary school, students should have the opportunity to choose from a variety of music programs that are available to them in every academic year.
·Students should have the opportunity to participate in a range of musical performances, both in the school and in the community.
·Students should have creative musical experiences and understand the joy of participation.
Participants perceived a disconnect between the burgeoning visual arts activity and the lack of awareness and limited funding from the municipal, provincial and federal levels. “Art is a societal project but not a government priority.”
This site contains brief summaries of how the arts contribute to six aspects of Canadian life: the economy; urban renewal; community identity and pride; positive change in communities; quality of life and quality of place; and youth development.
Similar to the Canadian Making the Case for Culture site, this California site provides information and resources related to: 1) the arts as an economic engine; 2) the arts as a catalyst for better education; 3) the arts as a foundation for health and human services; 4) the arts in civic and community participation; and 5) how “creativity sparks imagination”.
These reports from the Canadian Conference of the Arts’ Chalmers Conferences provide arts advocacy information and techniques. The 2005 report provides practical tips for communicating with MPs, insights into parliamentary committees and tips on getting a message heard.
The Canadian Conference of the Arts’ advocacy primer contains steps to develop advocacy activities, strategies for effective advocacy, tips on how to communicate with candidates, ways to get the message out, tips on how to “make the pitch”, and more.
The Canada Council’s advocacy resource kit contains sections on key advocacy messages, advocacy tips and strategies, the achievements of artists and cultural organizations in a range of sectors, community and economic impacts of the arts, the contributions of Aboriginal and culturally diverse artists, and more. Within each of these areas, the kit contains a variety of statistics, resources and arguments to help arts advocates.
This report, through a literature review of the benefits of the arts, attempts “to engage the arts community and the public in a new dialogue about the value of the arts, to stimulate further research, and to help public and private policymakers reach informed decisions”.
