Promoter, venue rep, producer or agent working in culturally diverse music? Interested in seeing more of it touring across the UK? Want to diversify the audiences who come to your gigs? If so, ROUTES Beyond WOMEX is for you.

As WOMEX arrives in Manchester in the UK, this session will explore how the music sector can work together increase the touring of culturally diverse music and develop and/or diversify our programmes and audiences? Specially-curated for you, this networking session is designed to super-charge your relationships and kick-start change, and create a lasting legacy from WOMEX 24.

Hosted by Arts Council England, and bringing together a representative group of independent promoters, producers, venue managers and bookers (plus a smattering of international professionals), this session is all about facilitating discussion and seeding new ideas that could make a practical and sustainable change to culturally diverse music programming and audiences over coming years, both across the North of England and elsewhere in the UK.

The lowdown: what you'll get from participating

More than just a talking shop, the aim is to get things and people moving. The session will include a mix of discussion and networking to enable you to explore the current landscape, meet likeminded people and develop your work in the UK and internationally. ROUTES Beyond WOMEX is your chance to:

· Explore questions/ideas you have around how to increase culturally diverse music touring, or building/diversify the audiences for your work

· Develop your network and kick start new professional relationships

· Identify practical opportunities for collaboration

· Get a sense of the current landscape, hear from fellow professionals and Arts Council England

By the end of the session, we hope you’ll have developed a raft of new and useful relationships, and started to explore some ideas that could make a real difference to your organisation, programme and audiences in coming years.

ROUTES Beyond WOMEX: Building Networks, Touring Opportunities & Audiences