Equalising the gender balance in the music industry - JazzCamp for Girls Sweden 2022

With JazzCamp for Girls Sweden (15th - 18th August 2022, Kulturskolan Högdalen/Kulturfestival - Stockholm), Semente Cultural Productions takes another step in working towards gender equality in the music industry. Created by Jazz Denmark in 2014, in 2022, JazzCamp for Girls will take place for the first time in Sweden, Poland and Finland under the name of JazzCamp for Girls Takes the North

About JazzCamp for Girls 
JazzCamp for Girls aims at increasing the girls' interest in playing and composing music. The project offers a unique opportunity for girls at the age of 10-15, who want to try working with composition and improvisation, no matter the choice of instrument or previous experience. By creating a safe space through music, the girls can practise and acquire new skills.

JazzCamp for Girls 2022 Sweden edition is in collaboration with Kulturskolan Stockholm Stad and Stockholm Stad Kulturfestival. The camp will take place from Monday 15th to Wednesday 17th August at Kulturskolan in Högdalen and it will end with a final show in Kungsträdgården during the Stockholm Stad Kulturfestival, Thursday 18th August.

For info about the camp: https://www.semente.se/jazzcampforgirls

Why JazzCamp for Girls? 
In 2012, the so-called “80/20 report” was released in Denmark. The report addressed the unequal gender balance, by concluding that women were only represented by 20% in the Danish music industry. In addition, the majority of the female musicians who were still active were typically singers. The numbers are not exclusive to Denmark but can be documented throughout Europe. The purpose of JazzCamp for Girls is to increase the number of female instrumentalists on the music scene and thereby, help further a more equal gender balance in the music industry specifically within jazz. Jazz Denmark have extensive experience and good results, and it wanted to share and scale these.

Knowledge sharing is a pivotal component of working towards a more equal gender balance 
Since its beginning, JazzCamp for Girls has contributed to giving the participants self confidence in playing an instrument, by creating a free and safe environment for musical experimentation. During the camp, the girls are allowed to let loose and experiment with music through improvisation and composition practices that have been developed throughout the last 8 years since the birth of JazzCamp for Girls

Besides inspiring more girls to grab an instrument, the purpose of JazzCamp for Girls Takes the North is to create fruitful and productive circumstances for sharing knowledge in the common work towards a more equal gender balance across the northern European jazz environment. 

JazzCamp for Girls already adapted by JazzNorth in the U.K. 
JazzCamp for Girls was originally initiated by Jazz Denmark and Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2014 and has ever since allowed more than a thousand Danish girls to improvise and play jazz together. In 2019, the project was exported to the U.K. in collaboration with JazzNorth and has been running in Denmark and U.K. since then.

JazzCamp for Girls Takes the North is the result of an international collaboration between Svensk Jazz, Katowice City of Gardens, Semente Cultural Productions , Jazz Finland, Kultur(a), Katowice JazzArt Festival and JazzDanmark. The project is funded by the Nordic Cultural Foundation.