On 22 October the Euroradio Folk and Traditional Group gathered on the banks of the Danube in the Hungarian capital Budapest. The meeting took place on the fringes of WOMEX, the annual World Music festival.

Delegates from EBU Radio Members were looking to build on the tremendous success of last summer’s Euroradio Folk Festival in Krakow as they begin gearing up for next year’s edition in Viljandi, Estonia. Click here for more details about the 2015 event.

In Krakow, EBU Media Director Jean Philip De Tender, noting that broad culture is just as relevant as classical music, urged folk producers to formulate a long-term strategy to help the EBU develop a sustainable plan for future festivals.

Participants in the Budapest meeting also reviewed the latest developments in Folk Music@Planet Earth. This new project, in conjunction with the COP21 Climate Change Summit in Paris in December, will feature songs about nature recorded by folk artists or bands throughout Europe and submitted by EBU broadcasters to demonstrate their concern about climate change. The recordings are scheduled to air in the lobby of the COP21 in Paris-Le Bourget.