The Music Circle
Laura Martin is Director of The Music Circle, which is a subsidiary of Annie Lennox's The Circle of Women, a registered charity on which Laura also sits on the board. The Circle of Women is an association of women who share a passionate interest in the lives, needs and rights of women in all global communities. Circle members are inspired to give their time, skills, experience and resources to contribute towards making a difference to the lives of women living in poverty in developing countries.
The Music Circle was formed in spring 2011 by Emily Cooper and Laura Martin. Together the pair invited a selection of key women across the music industry to come together to discuss ideas and ways in which they could collectively use their skills and knowledge to help raise money and awareness for important female related causes in conjunction with Oxfam.
The Music Circle run a flagship, annual, celebrity, jumble sale called 'Rumble In The Jumble' which has raised £55,000 in the past two years.
Kate Hutchinson (MD TMC), Emily Cooper (Director TMC), Laura Martin (TMC), Annie Lennox (The Circle of Women)
Current Music Circle Project - Myanmar
The Music Circle are currently funding Oxfam who intend to make long-lasting changes to gender equality in Myanmar. Increasing women’s political representation and advising on policies which will influence the whole society to include and welcome women in positions of authority. In raising awareness that it is right and appropriate for women to share decision-making roles with men, changes will become widespread and sustainable.
After a lifetime of military control, in Myanmar’s towns and villages fewer than one in a thousand leaders and administrators are women. The 2015 elections can bring change: more than 2,000 women and men will work to increase women’s say at home and in parliament, and many people will hear about their efforts, growing momentum for both commitments and action on women’s equality.
The Circle of Women is a registered company limited by guarantee (Company No. 0899335) | Registered Charity No.1160293 (England & Wales) | Registered office: Studio Barn, Fyfield, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX13 5LN
Previously, for three years, The Music Circle supported women in the DRC. The disturbing video clip below illustrates the darkness of the situation in DRC and is what compelled TMC to help