EuNET MERYC: Origins and Aims 

In 2003 Susan Young (UK), Charlotte Fröhlich (Switzerland), and Sven-Erik Holgersen (Denmark) met in Copenhagen to plan the start of a European Network that would foster collaborations between European researchers and practitioners in early childhood music education.  The network became known as EuNet MERYC (European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children). 

Central to the purpose of the network was a focus on European research and practice.  The reason for this focus was to foster the distinctive characteristics and traditions of European research within diverse European academic and educational contexts.  The aim was to raise the visibility of European research in European languages to counter-balance the dominance of Anglo-American research and the English language.  Another reason for this focus was to ensure that practice would be informed by European academic activity of the highest quality.  Bringing research and practice together in constructive dialogue was a priority for the network’s activities.  To support these purposes the network holds a conference every two years, aiming, if possible to locate each conference in a different region of Europe, including former Eastern bloc countries.       

The EuNet MERYC Board initially consisted of the 3 founding members and the hosts of the first two MERYC conferences.  Each conference host becomes a board member and by this simple system Board membership gradually evolves, providing both continuity and new faces.

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An English Sub-group Emerged

In 2007 the EuNet MERYC conference was held in Cyprus.  At this conference, a group of English delegates met socially one evening and decided to keep in contact once they returned to England.  From this simple beginning an English sub-group within the larger European network was formed.  This group continued informally at first under the title MERYC-UK and later formalised their activity as a charity under the title of MERYC-England. 

The intention of MERYC-England is to maintain links with its parent organisation; to support and foster the aims and purposes of Eunet-MERYC within a national context; and to provide a forum for dialogue and influence between distinctively British/European academic theorising and research, contemporary practice in all its varied forms and policy.