4 Chair’s Column Anke van der Bijl when our Suzuki community could again feel the joy of making live music together during the Children’s ConvenƟon in Cuneo. How wonderful to meet up with your colleagues in real life ! Since February 2022, two countries are at war. The enƟre world is affected by this war but of course the most horrific consequences are felt by inhabitants of the countries involved. In 2022 Europe had to cope with a hot and very dry summer. Countries had to deal with floods or wildfires. The world had to face that growth should now come to a halt. Personnel is scarce in many fields. Prices of energy and housing have quadrupled. Intensely hot and dry summers (and the floods!) made us realise that we should adapt a lifestyle which does not exhaust our climate. Families have less to spend. Many can no longer afford sports and/or music educaƟon. Our slogan :”Every Child Can” is sadly no longer a financially possible reality for all. How do we as ESA adapt to these new situaƟons? For us the main new challenges are - · Finding a balance between affordable, yet quality Suzuki teacher training in economically difficult Ɵmes. · Finding a balance between conducƟng training online, yet ensuring fair play, as in avoiding unfair compeƟƟon with our colleagues from other countries or even from other regions. · Finding a compromise between in-person modules and online training. To consider the various sides of these issues we have frequent discussions with different plaƞorms - Instrument CommiƩee Chairs, Governance CommiƩee, ISA Board, ESA Board, Officers MeeƟngs and Weekly MeeƟngs with Chair, Deputy Chair and Administrator. This results in updates of ISA Policies and our ESA Manuals for Teacher Training, ExaminaƟons and Appointments/AccreditaƟons. Finding balance and compromises is challenging. When going to dinner with 20 people, it can be difficult to decide where and what to eat. With our 26 ESA Countries, each with unique cultural, poliƟcal and economical backgrounds, it is oŌen difficult to find a consensus that suits all. We certainly do our best to respect the cultural idenƟty of each member and take all decisions democraƟcally, but there is not always a size which fits all. ExcepƟons can always be requested, but if every member would request his/her own excepƟons, we will lose our sense of Suzuki community….. In the 2020 Chair’s Column, CollaboraƟon, CooperaƟon and ConnecƟon were the keywords. We sƟll firmly believe in those and strive to offer possibiliƟes through Suzuki Sundays, Monthly E-news, ESA Facebook Group, European Children's ConvenƟon Italy, European Viola Gathering Belgium, and European Online Parent FesƟval. AddiƟonally, we have introduced a consultaƟon hour with the ESA Chair. We are invesƟgaƟng the possibiliƟes of an ESA Youtube Channel. We have added a system of ConƟnual Assessment and developed a draŌ for a (Post Covid) Eco-friendly opƟon for examinaƟons, and finally, years of work on our website will soon result in the launch of a clearer and more colorful ESA website. Indeed, Times are a-changing but the importance of human contact with our beloved family, pupils, parents and colleagues will always remain. Perhaps in 50 years Ɵme (2063 !) we can “ objecƟvely” look back and “judge” the decisions of this period. In the meanƟme, let us stay in touch ! The Times They Are A-Changin' Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone If your Ɵme to you is worth savin' And you beƩer start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the Ɵmes they are a-changin’ Bob Dylan I n previous decades, we experienced steady economic growth. Growth which felt almost never ending and for some it indeed was never enough. Many aspects of life were dictated primarily by economic principles. EducaƟon, Healthcare and Art became market objects. PaƟents and Pupils became products. Housing became important, not only for shelter but as object for speculaƟon. In our Suzuki world we experienced tremendous growth in members, Teachers, Trainers, Countries, Instruments, InternaƟonal Workshops and ConvenƟons - all requiring lots of travelling. This type of growth could be monitored nicely in numbers and staƟsƟcs, inline with the preferences of the Homo Economicus who felt the need to measure all achievements. It took several years for some governments to noƟce the disastrous effect for areas where progress is not measurable - the Arts, Healthcare and EducaƟon. But then the damage was done and difficult to repair. In my country, the Netherlands, for instance, music educaƟon was seen as an unnecessary and expensive extra. Subsidised Music Schools disappeared. Today we have only 12 Municipal Music Schools leŌ in our enƟre country with over 18 million inhabitants. In the last two years, we were forced to feel that Ɵmes are - a-changing and those changes are dramaƟc. The pandemic made us rethink our prioriƟes. We now all are very much more aware that we thrive on human contact. We have learned many possibiliƟes of online contact and also experienced that live human connecƟon is something to treasure and cannot be replaced. What a relief
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