College shortlisted for international sustainability award
Edinburgh College has been named as an International Green Gown Award 2025 finalist in recognition of a community music programme which provides a safe and welcoming space for young people across the city to have music making opportunities they otherwise would not have access to.
The College won the Benefitting Society award at the 2024 regional Green Gown Awards – a Sustainability-focused awards programme organised by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC)- and now hopes to pick up a win on the international stage. The international awards recognise the outstanding sustainability projects being implemented in educational institutions around the world
With inclusiveness at its heart and the belief that everyone deserves music, EC Sessions gives the young people who attend the autonomy to choose their instruments and the music they play no matter their level of ability or experience.
This is at the core of the project’s vision: a less intimidating ‘side-door’ that helps young people to see a place that is for them. For some, it's meant a gentle route into studying at the college, for others, EC Sessions has simply been a place to come to learn, play, compose and record music.
EC Sessions, which is designed and delivered by lecturer Jess Abrams and student volunteers, offers so much more than just an opportunity to play music. It has also offered a community, a place where they feel welcome and connected, where they can be themselves, and feel supported to explore their own musical interests and talents without the pressures that life (and exams) can bring.
By its nature, the EC Sessions project aligns to two of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals:
- Good Health and Wellbeing: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
- Quality Education: ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Such is the inclusivity of EC sessions, many of the participants have gone on to study a full-time course at the College.
Find out more about the International Green Gown Award finalists.