What happens when pop and rock formats are used as tools for youth empowerment in contexts where other musical traditions, languages and ways of making culture have been pushed aside, suppressed or made invisible? These formats can open doors, create confidence and offer access, but they can also risk reproducing the same hierarchies that have historically marginalised local forms of expression.

The panel will explore how organisers navigate this tension in practice: how to create music spaces that are relevant and empowering, how to support young people in ways that strengthen identity, self-determination and music communities on their own terms.

The three organisers represent different contexts: Dolvot, a songwriting camp for young professional Sámi musicians; Rock the Rez, a rock camp for girls and non-binary children on reservations in South Dakota and Minnesota; and LOUD Girls Rock Camp Mozambique, which works mainly with girls in schools in the Maputo area.

Participants
Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen / Dolvot
Artist, activist and author, founder of Dolvot, a songwriting camp for young professional Sámi musicians.

Slater Matson / Rock the Rez
Director of Rock the Rez and board member of the Girls Rock Camp Alliance. Rock the Rez is a rock camp for girls and non-binary children on reservations in South Dakota and Minnesota.

Tapiwa Langa / LOUD Girls Rock Camp Mozambique (TBC)
Musicologist and Director of Music Crossroads Mocambique, co founder of LOUD Girls Rock Camp Mozambique, providing music and leadership training for girls in schools in the Maputo area

This panel explores how mentorship can support young people beyond first participation, and help build confidence, skills, networks and longer-term pathways in the cultural field. Bringing together perspectives from community music, creative technology and youth leadership, the session looks at what meaningful support can look like in practice — and how organisations can create more sustainable and inclusive routes into creative work.

Speakers:

Karin / Spark the Noise (London, UK) is a musician and community music practitioner originally from Sweden. She has led community music programmes for young people and adults in London and Sweden for eight years, with a strong focus on access, participation and intersectional equity in music. Through her position with Spark the Noise, whe is currently working with Pathways, a paid traineeship that supports women, trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming young people into behind-the-scenes music industry roles.

Laura Lee is a producer, creative technologist, guitarist, performer and academic working across music, arts and interdisciplinary collaboration. With a background in both higher education and creative practice, she is passionate about mentoring artists and building bridges between academia, the creative industries and the arts. Her work explores new approaches to music technology, performance and participation.

This session explores how rhythm and collective movement can strengthen young people’s sense of belonging, confidence and embodied self-expression. Through simple, inclusive and participatory exercises, we will work with movement as a social language, exploring how the body can function as a voice – especially for those who may not always express themselves easily through words. The session – which is held by Bellali Austria – combines practical activities with brief reflection on how rhythm and the body can be used as tools in youth work and inclusive practices.

Bellali Austria is a dancer, choreographer and producer based in Oslo. She works at the intersection of flamenco, world dance and participatory performing arts, developing projects for children and young people with a focus on inclusion, identity and artistic empowerment. Bellali has extensive experience in cultural outreach through festivals, productions and cross-cultural collaborations in Norway and internationally.

This session offers a practical introduction to ElektroLOUD, JM Norway’s approach to making music production more accessible, playful and inclusive for children and young people.

Teaching music production can be challenging: the software can feel overwhelming, the possibilities seem endless, and many young people do not easily see themselves in the producer role. In this workshop, participants will get to experience some of the methods and exercises developed through ElektroLOUD to lower these barriers and spark curiosity.

The session includes hands-on activities that can be used to explore music production with kids and youth, regardless of previous experience. It will be facilitated by former participants, highlighting peer learning and the importance of creating spaces where young people can grow through experimentation, shared ideas and confidence-building.

The workshop also marks the release of JM Norway’s new ElektroLOUD handbook (in Norwegian): a practical resource for anyone who wants to teach or lead activities in electronic music production. The handbook gathers methods and reflections developed through years of practice and is designed as a flexible tool for educators, facilitators and organisers.

This session showcases inspiring projects from across the global Girls Rock Camp and youth music network. In a short presentation format, three organisers will each share one concrete project from their local context, followed by a joint conversation and audience Q&A.

The session offers participants new ideas for how music-based youth work can support inclusion, participation and leadership. It is designed to spark reflection, exchange and practical inspiration across different settings and communities.

Projects:
Pathways by Spark the Noise (UK): a paid traineeship for people aged 18–25 who want to enter behind-the-scenes roles in the music industry. The programme includes pathways in music tech and live engineering, workshop facilitation and community music leadership, artist management, social media and music journalism, and events management.

GRL PWR Festivalen by St. Croix-huset (Norway): an annual music festival in Fredrikstad that was created to address gender imbalance in the local live music scene. First launched in 2022, the festival brings together concerts, workshops and industry events, and has become a visible platform for women in music as well as a source of inspiration for other organisers. In 2025, the project received the Årets inspirasjon award from Norske Kulturarrangører.

This session explores how youth music and arts organisations can work with private partners and sponsors in ways that are both useful and values-driven. What kinds of opportunities can these partnerships create, and what should organisers be aware of when approaching companies, platforms or brands for support?

Through examples and conversation, the session will look at how partnerships can begin, what each side may be looking for, and how to build collaborations that support access, participation and long-term development without losing sight of an organisation’s purpose. The discussion will also touch on challenges, best practices and questions of alignment, power and credibility.

Speakers TBA.

Ella Marie is an Indigenous artist from Sápmi, located in northern Scandinavia. She gained widespread acclaim as lead singer of the Norwegian/Sámi band ISÁK, which enjoyed remarkable success from 2016 until 2023. With over 245 million streams on Spotify and collaborations with artists like Alan Walker, the band toured globally, showcasing Ella Marie's dynamic stage presence and her passionate delivery of yoik — a traditional Sámi musical chant. Now embarking on a solo career, Ella Marie has spent the last year creating new, timeless, and powerful indie pop music sung and yoiked in Northern Sámi.

Her artist journey began in 2018 when she won the popular television singing competition Stjernekamp in Norway. She has since used her platform and her music to fight for Sámi rights. She has fought tirelessly to protect Sámi lands, often standing alongside activists such as Greta Thunberg, and has emerged as a leading voice for human rights in Scandinavia. While Ella Marie’s music address’s themes of assimilation and cultural loss, it simultaneously celebrates Sámi resilience, unity, and pride. In poetic ways, she puts words and melodies to the pain shared by many indigenous and marginalized people all over the world, inviting her audience into a personal and safe space where her proud Sámi heritage shines.

In addition to her music, Ella Marie is a critically acclaimed actress, starring in the film Ellos eatnu – La elva leve (Let The River Flow), directed by Ole Giæver. In this poignant role, she portrays a young teacher in 1979’s Northern-Norway who conceals her Sámi identity to evade racism, drawing parallels to her own life and ongoing struggles for Sámi rights in present-day Norway. Ella Marie is also an author, having published Danne galggat diehtit munlean sápmelaš (This is why you must know that I am Sámi) in 2021, and has featured in several documentaries.

Ella Marie released part 1 of her solo debut album VARRA — meaning "blood" — in early 2025, and part 2 later the same year. The album explores the duality of Sámi bloodshed over the centuries and the contemporary significance of Sámi identity, reflecting bloodlines that span across Scandinavia. She has already toured over 40 dates across the region, and is now heading back on the road with new music and a mesmerizing live show.