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Season’s greetings with our latest news from Down Under! What a buzz in Melbourne for our September Australian National Conference on the theme of creating partnerships in music! We were inspired by wonderful keynote addresses from Dr. Daphne Rickson and Dr. Randi Rolvsjord, focusing on client strengths, collaborations and empowerment. Our music therapy friends from New Zealand were well represented and treated us to some beautiful Māori singing. Natalie Jack shared the interesting results of our first Australian national music therapy census, now available on AMTA’s website.AMTA is proud to have recently launched its Public Relations Campaign, ‘RMTs Change Lives’. The intention of the campaign is to raise general public awareness of Music Therapy as practised by Registered Music Therapists. We hope you will help share the campaign materials with your networks far and wide to help reach the broader population. Our own workplaces and friends are often well aware of our qualifications and expertise, so this campaign aims to appeal to the general public and raise the profile of the work of Registered Music Therapists. As part of the campaign, numerous promotional materials have been created including:
- 6 animations depicting an example of music therapy practice from different populations including: paediatrics, disability, rehabilitation, cancer care, aged care, mental health
- 6 interviews with researchers/academics discussing the research and theory behind the case examples in the animations
- A dedicated Facebook page for the campaign “RMTs Change Lives”
- A dedicated website for the campaign “RMTs Change Lives”
AMTA would be most appreciative if you could take a moment to support the RMTs Change Lives Campaign by visiting the website as well as liking and sharing FB page posts.Recently, Music Therapy New Zealand has encouraged the development of regional groups to encourage networking with other music therapists and "Friend" (supporter) and Corporate members of MThNZ. Currently groups are up and running in Auckland/Northland, Waikato (central North Island), Wellington and the South Island.On 25th and 26th November 2016, Te Koki NZSM, in collaboration with Music Therapy New Zealand, presented two days of events. An invited Hui (Meeting) focused on Music & Hauora (Wellbeing) at Community Music Junction Studios, Wellington brought Māori and Pasifika musicians, educators and health professionals together with music therapists and other interested parties to discuss pathways for music and health. It aimed to build relationships and to develop understanding about Māori health, the place of music and the future possibilities for education and training of music therapists. Music Therapy New Zealand representatives, Maori and Pasifika graduates, allied health and education colleagues were invited.A one-day symposium entitled ‘Innovative Research Methods in Music Therapy and Related Disciplines’ was also held at Victoria University of Wellington. Keynote speakers were Professor Katrina Skewes McFerran and Dr. Daphne Rickson, and there was a series of papers by music therapists and other disciplinary colleagues reflecting on diverse research methodologies.Ms. Jeanette Milford, AustraliaWFMT Regional Liaison, Australia/New Zealand
