New Year's letter from the SSPM co-presidents

Dear colleagues,

Last year's cultural message, in which the federal government set the priorities and objectives of cultural policy for the next four years, was an important topic. One of the main themes is "cultural participation", a subject that particularly concerns us as music teachers. Through our teaching activity, we enable our students to take part in culture - in our case, music - to actively participate, to create, to implement their own ideas and not just passively consume music. Individual expression is a fundamental human need and, if society is to remain healthy, it must not only be made possible, but also encouraged. As music educators, we therefore make an important contribution to the promotion of integral, individual health.

May this work satisfy you again next year, and may your students blossom, develop and find their own expression, so that they can actively participate in cultural life. In this way, our society forms a whole in which each individual can become part of the whole without having to renounce him or herself.

It's in this spirit that we wish you all a successful and creative New Year, so that culture flourishes and our society stays healthy!

Annette Dannecker and Paola De Luca