The Association for Popular Music Education is pleased to announce our first-ever European conference, held July 23–25, 2024, at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. The theme for the conference is Breaking Down Barriers.
We live in an age in which technological advancements have rendered communication and collaboration across the globe easier and more accessible than ever before. However, there is simultaneously an increased presence of physical and ideological barriers between peoples and nations based on issues such as gender, race, language, social class, and culture. Additionally, social and cultural changes caused by the Covid pandemic have had the effect of causing addition barriers to communication, collaboration, progress in our field. As such, this conference seeks to investigate, problematise, and find ways to break down the barriers to, in, and for popular music education and work together as educators to overcome the challenges faced by our field in an increasingly unsettled global social climate.
This conference will take place the week before the International Society for Music Education’s (ISME) biennial conference in Helsinki, Finland. Edinburgh is a great stopping point on the way to Helsinki, and this conference provides the opportunity for members of the popular music education community to come together in a specialised environment.
The APME conferences offers a space for our multi-faceted and fluid community to come together to learn from and with each other. In doing so, we serve as a vibrant ecosystem that helps to promote and advance popular music at all levels of education, both in the classroom and beyond. We invite you to connect with, learn from, and contribute to our community as we consider our past while looking toward the future of popular music education.
Submissions closed on December 1, 2023
Invited presenters were notified on January 22, 2024
Conference Registration
Registration for the 2024 conference will open on February 1 and will be accessible though our Sched conference app. To access the registration website and download the app, click the Sched logo below. Registration is not accessible on the app, and will need to be completed on the Sched website.
Conference registration fees
Individual – £250
Primary/Secondary Teacher — £125
Student — £50
Conference registration includes access to the entirety of the conference proceedings in addition to a breakfast of coffee/tea and pastries, provided lunch, and afternoon coffee/tea and pastries for all three days of the conference.
Supporting BIPOC and First-time Attendees
In our continued efforts to promote access and equitable experiences, APME is offering a limited number of registration fee waivers and discounts for participants to attend the conference in person or virtually.
We seek applications from participants who meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Are a first-time conference participant;
- Are a part of an underrepresented group in popular music education (including, but not limited to, a member of the BIPOC, AAPI, LGBTQIA+ communities); and/or
- Demonstrate financial need
The deadline to apply was March 1, 2024. We will notify invited applicants by March 20, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact us at conference@popularmusiceducation.org Please note there is a separate application for registration fee support for graduate students.
Supporting Graduate Students
In our continued efforts to promote accessibility and equitable experiences, APME is offering a limited amount of financial support on registration fees for graduate students to attend the conference in person or virtually.
Additionally, we are also looking for a limited number of graduate students interested in supporting the conference through serving as a valued member of our onsite conference support team. In return for your commitment and service, APME will offer financial support on registration fees and onsite housing. If this interests you, please fill out this form. Please note this opportunity is for graduate students only.
The deadline to apply was March 15, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact us at conference@popularmusiceducation.org
Lodging Information
The conference is being held at Craiglockhart Campus which is a 15-minute bus journey from the closest hotel accommodation
Edinburgh Napier Student Housing – APME has managed to secure a block of rooms in the Edinburgh Napier student halls from Monday 22nd July to Friday 26th July at the price of £55 per room per night. There is also space on the weekend 27th and 28th July if you would like to extend your stay. These rooms would be split over several flats, ranging in size from 5 to 8 bedrooms.
All flats feature individual lockable rooms with small double (4ft wide) beds & private en-suite bathrooms, plus a fully equipped communal kitchen/lounge area with flat screen television. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout, and we provide all bed linen, bath & hand towels. Please read our information sheet and terms and conditions prior to contacting our booking team.
All enquiries should be made to vacation.lets@napier.ac.uk quoting APME Conference in the email subject header please with details of duration of stay and number of guests. The cut off point for bookings is 2 weeks in advance of the start date, (COP on Monday 8th July 2024) so please book early to avoid disappointment.
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Black Ivy
4 Alvanley Terrace
Edinburgh
EH9 1DU
Please visit their website to book and use the code BLACKIVY10 to apply the discount.
Bruntsfield Hotel
69 Bruntsfield Place
Edinburgh
EH10 4HH
+44 (131) 229 1393
20 rooms, £250.00 per room per night inclusive of full Scottish breakfast
Local Information
Click here to learn more about travel to/from the Craiglockhart campus, including travel planners for rail, bus, and bike.
To get to the Craiglockhart campus from Edinburgh Napier student housing, we suggest taking the 4, 27, or 10, as they all stop within a 5 or 6 minute walk from the halls and take you direct to campus.
To get to the Criaglockhart campus from the hotels, we suggest the 36 as the best choice, but the 27 and 10 bus routes are also only a 5 minute walk away.