For many years, EMU has worked closely together with the European Association for Music in Schools and the Association Européenne des Conservatoires. Together, the three organisations form SCHEME – the Steering Committee for the Harmonisation of European Music Education.
SCHEME was created to strengthen cooperation between organisations representing different parts of the music education landscape: music and arts schools, school music education, and higher music education. In this way, it brings together the whole educational pathway – from early childhood and music school education to conservatoires and lifelong learning.
For EMU members, this cooperation is valuable because it creates stronger links with colleagues and institutions across Europe and ensures that music and art schools are part of wider European discussions and developments
In recent years, SCHEME has increasingly focused on developing joint advocacy initiatives to strengthen the visibility of music and arts education at European level and to make sure that the voice of the sector is heard in discussions on culture, education, social cohesion, wellbeing, and sustainability. By working more closely together, the three organisations can create messages, recommendations, and tools that are not only stronger at European level, but also more useful and applicable for members in their own national contexts.
This closer cooperation is also becoming increasingly visible through joint presentations, conference contributions, and shared appearances at European events. SCHEME partners presented together at the EAS Conference 2025, will continue this exchange at the EAS Conference 2026, and are also expected to contribute to the upcoming EMU Conference in Prague. These shared activities help make ideas, examples, and advocacy messages more tangible for members and easier to transfer into their own work.
Beyond advocacy, SCHEME is also about practical cooperation. Over the years, EMU has been involved in several European projects led by AEC. In the Strengthening Music in Society Project, EMU contributed especially in the areas of Early Childhood Music Education and digitisation. Within the ARTEMIS Project, the SCHEME partners worked together on future challenges for music educators and developed recommendations for teacher education that can be directly relevant for members working in schools and music schools.
The cooperation also continues in current projects. In the new CC-ECME project, in which EMU is a partner, both EAS and AEC are supporting the project as associated partners. This is another example of how the three organisations strengthen each other’s work and create new opportunities for members across Europe.
SCHEME – the Steering Committee for the Harmonisation of European Music Education – brings together EMU, the European Association for Music in Schools, and the Association Européenne des Conservatoires. Together, the three organisations represent the full educational pathway: from early childhood and music school education to school music education, higher music education, and lifelong learning.
Links
AEC
EAS
Artemis recommendation
SMS Project
