In 2022, JazzDanmark partnered up with organisations in Poland, Sweden and Finland, which resulted in more international jazz camps under the project name 'JazzCamp for Girls Takes the North'. At JazzNorth in the U.K., they adopted the Jazz Camp for Girls project in 2019 and just won the prestigious Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2022 for their work on the project.

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With a report in the renowned paper; the New York Times, the project has received worldwide recognition.

Jazz Camp for Girls was started by JazzDanmark and Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2014. Among others, the purpose was to break with the uneven gender balance of the music industry. A tendency that was particularly highlighted with the release of the so-called '80/20 report' from 2012. That the gender imbalance of the music industry is a global challenge is not a new thing but Lisa Abend points towards specific challenges within the realm of jazz;

"From 2007 to 2018, women musicians led or shared the lead on
less than 20 percent or so of the 50 best albums in the NPR Jazz Critics Poll."
- Lisa Abend, The New York Times
 

For the girls at Jazz Camp for Girls in Copenhagen, the camp has meant making new friends, while also developing courage, curiosity and desire to play more music in the future. 

 

“That was great!” she gushed, as she exchanged phone numbers with her new friends,
Aya and Lola. “We should form a band!”
- Lisa Abend, The New York Times

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Since 2019, Jazzcamp for Girls has been successfully adopted by JazzNorth in England, read about it here. In 2022, JazzCamp for Girls expanded into new territories with the project 'JazzCamp for Girls Takes the North' where jazz camps took place in Sweden, Poland and Finland. The project is a collaboration between Svensk Jazz, Katowice City of Gardens, Jazz Finland, kultur(a), Semente Cultural Productions, Katowice JazzArt Festival and JazzDanmark.

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In 2023, the project will also expand to Turkey and Canada.

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JazzCamp for Girls began in 2014 as a collaboration between JazzDanmark and Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Since 2020, JazzDanmark has run the project. JazzCamp for Girls Takes the North is supported by The Nordic Culture Fund.