Reflections from Zurich Music Week 2025: Inclusion, Innovation, and Gender Equity in Music

Pics by Julia Michels

When I received the invitation to speak at Zurich Music Week 2025 (ZMW), I knew it would be a unique opportunity to represent We Make Noise (WMN) and build new connections within the European music ecosystem. Over the years, ZMW has established itself as one of the most dynamic platforms where professionals from across the electronic and live music industries come together to share creative practices, address industry challenges, and imagine more equitable futures for music.

A Gathering Focused on Inclusion and Innovation

The theme of Zurich Music Week 2025 was inclusion and innovation, creating the perfect setting to bring WMN’s perspective into dialogue with Helvetiarockt, Switzerland’s leading organization for gender equity in music.

Our session was designed as a comparative conversation: how do two organizations, working in very different cultural and political contexts, pursue the same mission of breaking down barriers in the music industry?

Experiencing Zurich Through Music

Thanks to the support of the organizers, my journey was full of meaningful encounters. Staying near the venue allowed me to take part in informal meet-ups, spontaneous coffee chats, and late-night conversations that often proved just as valuable as official panels.

Zurich itself provided the perfect backdrop. Just days before the world-famous Street Parade, the city was buzzing with energy. Music was everywhere — sound checks spilling out of clubs, posters layered across walls, people debating lineups in cafés. It was a strong reminder of how deeply music is woven into Zurich’s identity, and how this cultural belonging can also serve as a catalyst for equity.

Our Panel: Moving from Awareness to Action

On August 7th, we hosted our panel in front of a diverse audience of international artists, festival bookers, and club managers. The atmosphere was both intimate and engaged, with participants eager to explore how to move beyond simply “acknowledging inequality” toward developing tools for real change.

I shared the story of We Make Noise: how we began as Beats By Girlz and grew into a global network spanning more than 20 chapters, all dedicated to advancing gender equity in music and technology.

Helvetiarockt presented their Diversity Roadmap, an excellent tool that supports Swiss festivals, venues, and institutions in implementing inclusive practices. What struck me most was how complementary our approaches are: while WMN works with a transnational and solidarity-driven lens, Helvetiarockt focuses on deeply localized strategies that achieve systemic change through persistence and policy integration.

Key Questions That Shape the Future of Music

The discussion quickly turned toward practical strategies, raising critical questions:

• What kinds of training formats truly shift power dynamics?

• How can we measure impact without reducing equity work to numbers?

• How do we ensure diversity is not treated as an “add-on” but as a core part of music production, programming, and consumption?

These conversations reflected a growing readiness across the industry to move from awareness into concrete action.

Building Networks and New Collaborations

One of the most valuable aspects of Zurich Music Week 2025 was the networking. I exchanged ideas with festival programmers interested in integrating gender equity into their events and connected with a Berlin-based collective working on safe-space clubbing guidelines — we are already exploring a potential joint publication.

Even casual conversations carried weight. At one breakfast table, we discussed the mental health challenges that women and non-binary artists face when constantly expected to “represent diversity.” This reinforced the idea that any equity framework must include care, rest, and sustainability.

Returning to Istanbul: Next Steps for WMN

Coming back to Istanbul, I felt energized and inspired. Zurich Music Week 2025 proved that We Make Noise’s mission resonates far beyond our current networks, opening new opportunities to collaborate with the Swiss and wider European music ecosystem.

The experience also reaffirmed our strategy: combining policy advocacy with grassroots talent development is the right path forward.

I am deeply grateful to the organizers for centering equity as a key theme, to Helvetiarockt for being such an inspiring partner, and to everyone who joined our panel or shared their ideas over coffee. Once again, music showed its power not only as a universal language but also as a driving force for social transformation.

Written by Beril Sarıaltun - We Make Noise