The Scottish Government's Youth Music Initiative (YMI) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Launched in 2003 with the aim to break down barriers to encourage children's talents flourish, YMI funding has given children and young people across Scotland access to free music education, growing yearly participation to over 270,000 during its span.

Administered through Creative Scotland, the programme now commits around £9m of public funds each year to the provision of 277 music education projects, primarily in areas of social and economic deprivation.

Reach

In celebrating the 20th anniversary there will be a year-long campaign which will shine a light on the programme's participants and the people who make it happen across Scotland's 32 local authority areas. The programme reached 278,726 children and young people annually according to research published in 2021, placing Scotland as an international leader in youth arts.

Speaking about the anniversary, Culture Minister Neil Gray said: "The Youth Music Initiative's track record over the last 20 years is impressive not only for the free music education it offers children and young people across Scotland every week but for the way it has widened access to music making opportunities, especially in some of our more deprived areas.

#pq#

Over £140 million

Since 2007 the Scottish Government has invested over £140 million in the Youth Music Initiative which is about much more than music tuition. It's well known that children who take part in musical activities gain confidence and a range of transferrable skills that can boost their abilities in other subjects. Taking part in, and listening to, music is also good for the mental health and well-being of our young people."

Meanwhile, Morag Macdonald, YMI Manager at Creative Scotland said: "I think it's fair to say that there's barely a day that goes by without YMI activity happening somewhere in Scotland.

In and amongst all the joyful noise, there's those quiet moments where someone nails that difficult transition, writes their first song or finds the courage to join the music group which sparks a lifelong interest in music.

With ongoing support from the Scottish Government, the YMI has become an essential part of Scotland's rich music ecology, creating everyday opportunities to participate in high quality music making projects."