Music Generation, in partnership with U2 and The Ireland Funds and with support from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, has been announced as winner of the 2018 Allianz Business to Arts Award for ‘Best Long Term Partnership’. The Award was presented yesterday evening, Tuesday 4th September, by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD, at a ceremony hosted in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and attended by 600 leaders from across the arts, cultural and business sectors.

Now in their 27th year, the Allianz Business to Arts Awards recognise and celebrate imaginative, innovative and effective partnerships between businesses and the arts. The Award for ‘Best Long Term Partnership’ is made to organisations that have consistently made an impact through collaborative events or programmes over three or more years.

U2’s The Edge welcomed the news: ‘This was a big dream and it was always going to be a team effort. We can’t thank our partners enough for their passion and commitment to our shared goal – an accessible music education for every young person in Ireland. We are all so proud of everything Music Generation has achieved thus far and we look forward to working together long into the future.’

Caitriona Fottrell, Vice President and Director, Ireland, The Ireland Funds, added: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to have received the Award. The journey and achievements of Music Generation are testament to the power of Philanthropy, which has brought about unprecedented change for the music education landscape in Ireland. Thanks to our partners U2, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation whose support has been vital to the programme’s continued success.’

Rosaleen Molloy, National Director of Music Generation accepted the Award on the evening: ‘Partnership has always been the cornerstone of Music Generation’, said Rosaleen. ‘It has opened the door to untold musical possibilities for children and young people and has ensured that those opportunities will be available for generations to come. The vision behind Music Generation simply could not have been realised without the commitment of our Donors, our parent company Music Network, the support of the Department of Education and Skills and the Music Education Partnerships with whom we work, in which Education and Training Boards and Local Authorities play a key role. We are truly grateful for their partnership.’

Music Generation is Ireland’s national music education programme, which was initiated by Music Network and is now co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships. In partnership with its Donors and Funders, Music Generation believes that all children and young people are inherently musical and that every child and young person has the right to realise their creative potential through music. Since it was established in 2010, the programme has grown to reach 22 counties in Ireland and now offers 48,500 opportunities each year for children and young people to engage in music tuition across a huge range of instruments, genres and styles. This Award comes on foot of an announcement by Government in December 2017 of its commitment to expand the programme nationwide by 2022.