INTRODUCTION

Breaking New Ground was the title of this 8th European Jazz Conference in Sofia and, judging by the feedback we received through our survey, we can be happy with the steps ahead we took in this direction. Last September, 324 professionals of the music sector from 38 different countries came together in Sofia, for the vast majority visiting Bulgaria for the first time. We discovered there a rich culture and music tradition and some interesting directions for its next developments.

It has also been the Conference with the highest attendance by EJN members. Our network is constantly growing and we are very pleased that the members, old and new, continue to come in very high numbers to our main event of the year, something quite unique in all European cultural networks.

Many insightful debates took place in Sofia, looking at ways to innovate our actions in different fields: sustainability, leadership, gender balance, fair practices, new business models for our venues and festivals. The challenges that are ahead of us are huge, and learning from each other, exchanging ideas and looking for common solutions must be the way forward to address them.

Very special moments in our conference this year have been the concert by two Ukrainian artists, Dennis Adu and Dmytro Avksentiev, the intervention by our member from Belgrade, Dragan Ambrozić to congratulate Mila and Peter, and the tribute to our dear friend and founding member John Cumming. They are all examples of the spirit and the values of our network, that go beyond the conference in all the activities that we carry on during the year.

I would like to thank the EJN staff and all the team of A to Z Foundation for the organisation and support. Thanks as well to the EJN Board of Directors and to the conference Programme Committee for their great job and inspiration.

Finally, I remind you once again, as already announced by Régis Guerbois and Hugues Kieffer during the final plenary session, to save the dates for the 9th European Jazz Conference which will take place in 2023 from September 14 to 17. See you all in Marseille, France, we are sure it will be another memorable experience for all of us!

Giambattista Tofoni EJN General Manager