Firstly, we want to express a warm welcome to all the new members that have joined us. It’s amazing to see everyone coming together. We urge you all to encourage as many colleagues and friends to keep joining and band together to build this strong community. Together we can do this, and the future is looking bright for us.
As we wait out this pandemic, we want to assure you that our work has continued. We have started making progress and we want to give you an update on everything that has been happening.
As we are now a registered body, we were approached to join the Advisory Committee of Income Support Allowance formed by the Economic Ministry. Founding member Shiham is on this committee and his role entails working with them to review the rejected applications. He has also suggested that the eligibility criteria for the allowance be revised, as there are many freelancers including a lot of musicians that lack the correct paperwork as per the current criteria. This should hopefully make the process easier for all freelancers that are seeking this allowance.
Though we are yet to hold our Annual General Meeting (AGM), an issue arose that we felt needed to be addressed urgently. In the middle of this global pandemic, while Maldivian musicians are out of jobs and seeking relief funds, we noticed that some of the resorts that are opening back up are hiring foreign musicians for in-house band setups at those establishments. This is an issue that has been ongoing for many years, that various musicians have been vocal about and have tried many a time to address with the government to no avail. We couldn’t let this happen again without using our newfound platform to bring attention to this.
On Monday afternoon, the founding members Mahran, Nishfa, and Shiham met with Minister Yumna and Deputy Minister Ikram of Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage. They expressed their concerns and suggested possible ways to tackle these issues by creating a committee that includes M.U.M and members from all the relevant Ministries and authorities. We will keep you updated on the developments.
Since we are having to adjust to the ‘new normal’, we have been brainstorming ways in which we can hold our AGM safely and socially distanced, while also making it as interactive as possible, given the current circumstances. Last week, we had a meeting with an events company that specializes in holding virtual events. We are currently having discussions to set a tentative date for our AGM and are working to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. We will give you further details as soon as we have a confirmed date and event outline.
Your involvement is of the utmost importance to us. This is a Union, but for us, we want to create a community. A safe and reliable space where we all have a common goal of bettering our industry, encouraging and uplifting each other on our endeavors, and just bringing back the joy of music in our lives both individually, and together as one. In the meantime, we would like to strongly encourage you to put forth your name for a position on the Executive Committee.
Executive Committee Posts
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary General
Spokesperson
Event Coordinator
Associate Officer
Contact us by messaging any of the founding members, if you know them personally, or via our official email :
conductor@musiciansunion.mv
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