Monday, January 27, saw the kick-off of 'Heal the Healer,' a new project aimed at improving mental health in the music industry. Thanks to funding from Centre of Expertise Prevention in Health & Social Care, this project, which will last one year, can get underway. Led by Koos Zwaan, professor of Innovation in the Music Industry, a team of researchers, teachers, welfare professionals and professionals from the music industry is working on sustainable solutions to mental health challenges in this sector.

Great urgency
Working in the music industry is not only inspiring, it also comes with risks. According to international research, as many as 70% of those working in the industry struggle with mental health problems, ranging from burnout and anxiety disorders to depression. The cause? A combination of economic uncertainty, performance pressure and a work culture in which stress is often seen as inevitable.

Professor Koos Zwaan explains: “The music industry is a wonderful but also demanding environment. The fact that mental well-being is such a wide-ranging problem became clear to me when I drew up the for the pop sector. Different mental challenges were mentioned from each expertise. With Heal the Healer, we not only want to create awareness, but also develop practical tools and interventions to better support both students and workers. This project offers an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the sector.”

What does Heal the Healer entail?
Heal the Healer focuses on two main pillars:
 

1. Prevention: Increasing the mental resilience of individuals so they are more resilient to the challenges of the music industry.
2. Amplition: Improving working conditions by encouraging structural change in the industry.

These interventions are being developed in collaboration with students from three Inholland programs - Haarlem Conservatory of Music, Leisure & Events Management and Creative Business -  and together with mental health professionals and coaches. In addition, work field organizations, such as BAM! Popauteurs and Music Managers Forum NL (MMF), are actively involved in testing and implementing the solutions.
 

Kick-off: inspiration and collaboration
During the kick-off of Heal the Healer, all parties involved came together for the kick-off of the project. Besides exploring the objectives and research design, knowledge was shared. Professor of media studies Mark Deuze (UvA) was a guest and outlined the mental challenges within the creative sector. Inholland alumni Mandy Delaporte and Lucas Garnier shared insights from their thesis research on mental well-being in the dance and pop rock scene, respectively.

The ambition of Heal the Healer extends beyond the music industry. The knowledge and interventions gained can also be of value to other sectors within the cultural and creative industries.

The future of sustainability starts with yourself. The Expertise Network for Systemic Co-Design (ESC) is proud to present the ESC-IDG Hub. This platform, launched on 27 January, brings together professionals, researchers and students to develop skills and devise solutions for sustainability challenges. The hub can be accessed at www.esc-idghub.nl. In addition to a website, the hub includes a traveling exhibition that than can be visited in the Expo space at Inholland, Amsterdam until 6 February.
 

Starting point for innovation
The ESC-IDG Hub focuses on addressing societal transitions and sustainability challenges. The platform combines the development of individual skills and capabilities with systemic co-design, a method for tackling complex problems together in a structured creative way. Think of problems such as climate change, social inequality and the transition to a circular economy.

Many of us can feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of such challenges and don't know where to start taking action. This is why authentic leadership has an important place in the ESC-IDG Hub. IDG stands for the Inner Development Goals and emphasizes how personal growth contributes to achieving a sustainable society and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides a starting point: From being to acting.

Collaboration and personal development

The ESC-IDG Hub responds to the urgent need for development and focuses on three main objectives:

• Creating awareness among students and teachers about the importance of inner development in relation to societal transitions.
• Community-building: creating a network in which students and teachers can exchange experiences, exercises and tools, among other things.
• Integration into education: providing practical tools to integrate the IDGs into curricula and projects within higher education.

Jürg Thölke, professor of the Authentic Leadership research group and involved in the ESC-IDG Hub, explains, “At the core, you can only meet societal challenges through awareness of yourself and your place in the world. That the topic is sufficiently highlighted and normalised is essential. This hub is an important part of that and helps us think, develop and learn from each other. So that together we can realise more impact.”

Traveling exhibition as a place for connection
In addition to launching an online platform, where interested people can subscribe to the WhatsApp group to stay informed about the various activities, there is a physical exhibition. This interactive exhibition gives visitors a glimpse into the hub's projects and methodologies and aims. On the one hand, it acts as a research instrument to collect information from visitors for the further elaboration of educational interventions and on the other, to create a place for meeting and connecting.

Philippa Collin, researcher and project leader explains, “With this hub we want to strengthen connections and initiate a local ecosystem where education, research and practice meet. The exhibition plays an important role in this: it provides inspiration, invites visitors to think about their own contribution and helps them make the connection with their intrinsic motivation. Ultimately, we hope that everyone in education, students, teachers and staff, will see themselves playing a role in the challenging social transitions ahead.”

The exhibition can be visited in the Expo space of Inholland, Amsterdam until 6 February. After that, the exhibition will start a journey to visit other partners in the Expertise Network for Systemic Co-Design: Inholland Den Haag, Hogeschool Utrecht, Haagse Hogeschool and Hogeschool Rotterdam. The exact exhibition dates will be listed on the website.

 Want to know more about ESC-IDG Hub?
Powering something big starts from something small within yourself. Those who want their work to be meaningful and to explore their own potential to contribute to societal transitions can join the hub at www.esc-idghub.nl or for more information contact Philippa Collin at philippa.collin@inholland.nl.